Sport

Soccer-Serie A to seek revenue increase from Coppa Italia TV rights sale - sources

Serie A aims to increase revenues from the sale of national TV licences of the Coppa Italia for the next three seasons, two sources close to the matter said on Monday, as Italy's top-flight soccer league seeks to weather the coronavirus storm.

FILE PHOTO: Coppa Italia - Final - Atalanta v Juventus
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Coppa Italia - Final - Atalanta v Juventus - Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore, Reggio Emilia, Italy - May 19, 2021 Juventus' Gianluigi Buffon and team mates celebrate with the trophy after winning the Coppa Italia REUTERS/Alberto Lingria/File Photo

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MILAN: Serie A aims to increase revenues from the sale of national TV licences of the Coppa Italia for the next three seasons, two sources close to the matter said on Monday, as Italy's top-flight soccer league seeks to weather the coronavirus storm.

Broadcasting rights are the main source of revenues for Serie A clubs, whose finances have been hit by the pandemic as matches have been played in empty stadiums due to COVID-19 restrictions and firms have been cutting sponsorship budgets.

Serie A is seeking to raise at least 126 million euros (US$153.64 million) from the Coppa Italia TV rights sale, the sources said after the clubs approved the terms of the tender at a closed-door meeting in Milan on Monday.

That means Serie A is seeking an 18per cent increase from its previous deal with state broadcaster RAI, which spent around 107 million euros to broadcast Coppa Italia matches in Italy over the past three seasons.

Serie A secured some 2.8 billion euros from the rights to screen the Italian main league matches in its home market for the 2021-22 to 2023-24 seasons, down from the 2.9 billion euros it raised in the previous three-year cycle.

(US$1 = 0.8201 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: Reuters