Bloomberg and Il Sole 24 Ore report Oaktree Capital Management have bid circa €1 billion to fund a new TV service run by Serie A and practically acquire TV rights for Italy’s top flight.
Negotiations between Lega Serie A and Italian broadcasters including Sky, DAZN and Mediaset, have been ongoing for several months but no agreement has yet been found between the parties involved.
Lega Serie A first tried to auction TV rights, but no broadcaster met their asking price of circa €1 billion. Therefore, Lega Serie A have been considering launching their own TV service and a fresh offer from Oaktree Capital Management could help them fulfil their plan from the 2024-25 campaign.
According to Bloomberg, “Oaktree sent a letter to Serie A officials this week, offering a so-called guaranteed minimum investment of about €1 billion as part of a multiyear deal.”
Friday’s printed edition of Il Sole 24 Ore (page 32) reports the offer is close to €1 billion, circa €950m, for the first year but the fee would then decrease in the following 14 years. Advertising revenues of over €70m per year, would still be earned by Serie A.
Representatives of Lega Serie A will have a final meeting with DAZN, Sky and Mediaset today, Friday, October 6, but according to several sources, including Repubblica, their best offer will be below €880m.
Serie A sold their TV rights from 2021 to 2024 for €910m. DAZN invested €840m to broadcast all games, while Sky bid €70m to air three games per week.