Serie A will meet to decide on the allocation of TV rights for '15-18, "as uncertainty remains between the broadcasters," according to FOOTBALL ITALIA. The TV broadcast rights for the Italian top flight for the '15-16 through '17-18 seasons "came up for auction last week, split into five packages." Sky Sport Italia "tabled the highest bids for Packages A, B and C, outbidding Mediaset and Fox for Package A" with a €357M ($486M) offer, the same two companies again for Package B with a €422M ($574M) offer and just Fox for Package C with an offer of €15M ($20M). Mediaset, which provisionally holds Package D with a high bid of €306M ($416M), has "taken issue" with Sky’s winning bids for A and B, and is reportedly "threatening legal action arguing that under a ‘no single buyer rule,’ the corporation cannot hold the rights for both digital and satellite broadcasts." Nobody bid for Package E, but "there remains a potential total windfall" for Serie A, should Sky keep A and B and Mediaset take D, of more than €1.1B ($1.5B), representing a €286M ($389M) increase on the current three-year package "that runs until the end of next season." The Serie A will "vote on the allocation" of the TV rights. Part of the decision "will be based on balancing the potential increase in income against the risk of any legal action being taken by unhappy parties" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 6/23).
