The atmosphere is getting hotter ahead of the Lega Serie A assembly on Tuesday, 23 March 2021, in which the clubs will be called for the seventh time to express themselves on the attribution of audiovisual rights for the next three years and therefore to choose between the offer from Dazn (in partnership with Tim) and that of Sky. The Comcast media company, in fact, according to Ansa, has sent a letter to the Serie A League stressing the need to consider its offer as valid and to be voted on.
Sky letter in view of the assembly
The letter comes a few days before the deadline for offers, which will expire on March 29, 2021, and after the Lega Serie A consultant Alberto Toffoletto took a strong position at the last meeting last week, arguing that the the offer presented by Sky is, in his opinion, to be considered inadmissible. No formal and formalized conclusions from Lega Serie A on this point, but the thesis of inadmissibility would rest on the fact that Sky’s offer – 750 million euros per year for all matches, but with 70 million more for the channel of the League necessary given that Sky, by decision of the Antitrust Authority, cannot have exclusive matches on IPTV until May 2022 – with the “light channel” speech it would have presented a conditional offer, according to the Lega lawyer. And therefore not to vote.
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The position of the media company
This would obviously leave the field open to Dazn and its 850 million annual offer (of which 340 to Tim for internal agreements between the two companies). “The CEO of the Serie A League – explains in a notes the pay TV – in recent days, through a phone call, the League has communicated the request by the League that Sky renounces the clarifications presented during the private negotiations, given that the League would have doubts about the admissibility of our offer, considering it conditional ».
Doubts about the timing of the League
This communication and its timing, continues the note from Sky, “are nothing short of surprising, given that the position is made explicit after more than a month and a half from the definition of the offers and a few days after their expiration”. Furthermore, “the invitation to detail the offer with an indication of the League’s commitment to distribute its channel with Serie A matches directly to users, was explicitly made by the CEO and by the Lega’s lawyers, during of the private negotiations that took place before the Commission and the notary “.
The stinging tail on fast connections
Therefore, according to Sky, the position of the League would be “unfounded, in contrast with the Melandri law and would jeopardize the competitive dynamics that the League has the duty to ensure”. Finally, a poisonous tail is added to this, concerning the theme of “visibility” and usability of the matches, at the basis of many doubts about the stability of the streaming model that represents the core business of Dazn: “The award of the Sky offer – concludes the note from the media company – it would lead to a more competitive result, because the live televisions of the matches of the entire championship would be offered by both the Lega and Sky, with evident benefits for Serie A, clubs and spectators, taking into account that would be visible on all platforms. All the more so if we also consider the difficulties of 60% of Italian families in accessing the network with fast connections, as recalled by the Minister of technological innovation and digital transition ».