Italian men’s soccer’s second-tier Serie B has terminated its major domestic and international broadcast rights contract with the Helbiz over-the-top (OTT) platform.
The LNPB governing body said the decision was made due to “non-fulfillment” of payment obligations by Helbiz Media, which first snapped up Serie B rights in 2021.
As a consequence, domestic coverage of the 2023-24 season will be available through pay-TV heavyweight Sky Italia and the DAZN sports subscription service. The pair have held rights to the league for the last two years but will now share Helbiz’s rights package too.
Sky and DAZN will pay additional fees for the extra rights but there will still be a shortfall for the 2023-24 season compared to the income the league secured from its domestic partners for previous campaigns.
In total, the LNPB has said that Sky Italia and DAZN will pay €40 million ($43.5 million) plus VAT over the course of next season for the combined rights packages.
This is split between Package A (satellite rights) and Package B (digital rights). For the first two years of the current cycle, Helbiz, Sky, and DAZN were paying €46 million annually.
The Serie B domestic rights agreement has been in place since the start of 2021-22, and the new cycle will commence at the start of 2024-25. Helbiz first announced the acquisition of Serie B rights in June 2021.
The league said it has not made a decision over its loss of a global audiovisual rights partner. Sky and DAZN also hold domestic rights to top-tier Serie A.
Other platforms to have shown either live action from Serie B or highlights domestically over the last two seasons include Facebook, OneFootball, and Amazon.
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