Sources: Eurosport Submits Bid For Serie A Broadcast Rights Beginning In '15

Discovery Communications' Eurosport "is bidding" for Italian football TV rights "to challenge Mediaset and Sky Italia in broadcasting the country’s most popular sport," according to Lepido & Schweizer of BLOOMBERG. Sources said that Eurosport bid for a package that includes 132 matches involving 12 top-division teams and has a starting price of $960M. The rights "cover three seasons," beginning in the fall of '15. Discovery "is seeking to become more competitive in sports after acquiring control of Eurosport this year." Also bidding are current rights holders Mediaset, controlled by former PM Silvio Berlusconi, and Sky Italia, part of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The auction for the Serie A rights, managed by Infront Italy, ended on Thursday. It includes "four main TV-rights packages," with a total starting price of €2.88B ($3.8B). The league "now has 21 days to evaluate the offers" (BLOOMBERG, 6/5).