European pay-TV group Sky "beat Mediaset in the race to broadcast UEFA Champions League matches in Italy" from '18, a source said on Wednesday, "in a new blow for the Italian broadcaster," according to Giancarlo Navach of REUTERS. Mediaset won the last auction in '14 to air the Champions League on its pay-TV division for three years for "just under" €700M, "raising its cost base but giving it an advantage over Sky Italia." This time, Mediaset's bid was in excess of the €227M ($256M) per season it offered last time, a source close to the matter said, "without giving a precise figure." But Sky's Italian subsidiary won with a bid of between €270M ($304M) and €290M ($327M) per season to broadcast Champions League matches for three seasons from '18, the source said. Mediaset's pay-TV brand, Premium, has 2 million subscribers who are "mainly drawn to its sports channels but it has failed to add enough customers to offset the money spent on the broadcasting rights." In Britain, Sky was beaten by BT, which retained the Champions League rights by agreeing to pay £1.2B ($1.5B), "nearly a third more than the previous auction." But in Germany, Sky Deutschland "secured a sub-licence deal with digital content and media provider Perform Group to show UEFA's games in the country from next year." In France, Vivendi's pay-TV business "was beaten to the Champions League rights" by a €350M ($394M) per year bid from Altice (REUTERS, 6/14).
