Italian free-to-air state broadcaster Rai has renewed non-exclusive domestic Serie A soccer highlights rights for the next three seasons.
The Italian top-tier men's soccer league had put domestic highlights out to tender for the next three-year cycle in May this year, as well as radio rights.
As part of the renewal of the 2020 deal between Rai and the league, existing highlights program Novantesimo (90esimo) Minuto, usually broadcast on Sunday afternoons, will be split into two separate late evening episodes, one on Saturdays and one on Mondays, both on the linear Rai 2 channel.
Rai marketing director Stefano Coletta has said: “Rai has decided to purchase the Serie A highlights: 90esimo minuto will therefore have a three-weekly schedule on Rai2.”
Live TV rights in Italy to Serie A action for the next five seasons will be held by the DAZN streaming service and by pay-TV's Sky Italia.
Through 2028-29, Serie A coverage will be available via the Sport 1 and Sport 2 channels, as will games from the Coppa Italia knockout cup competition and the Italian Super Cup.
Serie A has also substantially changed its method for selling overseas media rights across the next cycle.
Previously, the vast majority of rights were held by the Infront agency, which then sold them on. Now, however, the league is carrying out a sizeable proportion of negotiations, in various markets, directly with broadcasters.
