Fox Int'l Channels Italy and Mediaset "have concluded an agreement for the distribution of the Fox Sports channel on the pay-TV platform Mediaset Premium," according to Branislav Pekic of ADVANCED TELEVISION. Fox Sports "will broadcast the matches of major football leagues in Europe," including the EPL and FA Cup, the Spanish La Liga and the French Ligue 1. Fox Sports "will be included at no additional cost in the Football package of Mediaset Premium" and will debut Aug. 17 (ADVANCED TELEVISION, 7/31). VARIETY's Nick Vivarelli wrote Mediaset shares closed up 3.27 on the Milan stock exchange Tuesday, "driven largely by the fact that on Monday Mediaset's paybox Mediaset Premium inked a key deal to carry Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Sports channel," which includes live British, French, and Spanish top league football, providing a big boost to the paybox's football offerings. The wider implication of this deal is that Mediaset and Murdoch's Sky Italia paybox have reached a truce "after being at each other's throats for years." They are united by a common effort to counter the arrival in Italy of Al Jazeera, "which is ramping up its global sports side" (VARIETY, 7/30).
