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Tender document available to all media operators on Monday, 7 August. Invitation to tender open from 11 August to 15 September 2017, 5 pm CET.
Milan, Italy – Lega Serie A and its advisor Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, have published the invitation to tender for international audio-visual rights to the Serie A Championship, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana for the 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. The tender will open on 11th August. The details are published on the Lega Serie A website www.legaseriea.it
After a recent international roadshow – in which Lega Serie A and Infront met a variety of stakeholders to give details on the tender, and which was a first in the history of the League – the official document is being made available to potential bidders. The invitation to tender has been built on a regional approach. Continents, regions and individual territories will be able to take up programming with the Serie A Championship, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana all offered as part of the same bidding process.
The invitation to tender includes 85 packages and interested parties can bid for a single package or for several. The audio-visual rights are offered on a platform-neutral basis, allowing broadcasters, operators and media partners to ensure the best possible exposure for Italian football.
The following table contains a list of packages and territories. The invitation to tender contains more detailed information on each.
Table 1 – Packages and available territories
| Package | Description | Global(except Italy, Vatican City and S. Marino) | Continent(big continental areas) | Countries(individual and groups of countries) |
| Serie A | 380 matches from the premier football division in Italy | X | X | X |
| Coppa Italia | All produced matches from the Coppa Italia as well as the Supercoppa Italiana match | X | X | X |
| Betting | All Serie A matches and all produced Coppa Italia and Super-coppa Italiana matches, for exploitation outside Italy by specialist betting operators | X | ||
| In-Flight & In-Ship | Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana live content for viewing on non-Italian planes and ships | X | ||
| Pick | Opportunity to assign preferred Serie A matches to specific kick-off times | In association only withthe Serie A Package | In association only withthe Serie A Package | In association only withthe Serie A Package |
| Italian Communities | A dedicated Italian language package specifically intended to serve Italian communities outside Italy | Available in territories with limited communities of Italians living outside of Italy | Available in territories with limited communities of Italians living outside of Italy | Available in territories with limited communities of Italians living outside of Italy |
All offers must be received by 15 September, 5 pm CET. Lega Serie A will then start the selection process, considering bids and awarding rights to any offers considered suitable. As part of this, Lega Serie A may open private negotiations with all bidders to identify the best candidates for audio-visual rights.
Potential bidders who require more information should contact Lega Serie A and Infront by 31 August, 5 pm CET.
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media, a Wanda Sports company, is one of the most respected sports marketing companies in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production, event operation and digital solutions – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with close to 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Group, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.
About Lega Serie A
The Italian Professional Football League, known as Lega Serie A, is one of the most famous football leagues in the world. The league, based in Milan, was founded in 1946 as Lega Calcio. In 2010, the league divided into Serie A and Serie B. The former is the top football league in Italy, and includes 20 clubs. Lega Serie A organises Serie A TIM, the major football championship in Italy, as well as the national cup (TIM Cup) and the match between the two winners of these competitions, the Supercoppa TIM. As with the other top European leagues, from next season the top four teams in the Serie A TIM will automatically qualify for the group phase of the Champions League. More goals were scored in the 2016/2017 Serie A TIM than in any other top European league. A total of 8,427,075 spectators watched the matches from stadiums during the season, and more than 300 million fans in Italy followed on television. Lega Serie A also runs important youth football competitions for under 19s – Primavera TIM, Primavera TIM Cup and Supercoppa Primavera TIM. Lega Serie A has negotiated club TV rights collectively since the 2010/2011 season, usually on the basis of a three year deal.
About Wanda Sports
Wanda Sports is the world’s leading sports business entity, founded to capture the opportunities in the global sports industry and to contribute to the prosperous international sports landscape in three key areas: 1) Spectator Sports (media & marketing business), 2) Participation Sports (active lifestyle business), 3) Services (digital, production and service business). Led by President & Vice Chairman Philippe Blatter, Wanda Sports incorporates the international sports marketing company Infront Sports & Media, the iconic endurance brand IRONMAN and Wanda Sports China. The headquarters are in Guangzhou, China.
