Sky and Perform Seal Major €973m Deal for Serie A Broadcast Rights Until 2021

Broadcast giants Sky, and media group Perform has sealed a major €973m deal to show Serie A football from next season until 2021.

As reported by Reuters, Italian broadcast behemoths Mediaset were outbid by their rivals for the deal, after becoming increasingly concerned over the rising costs of television Italian top tier football. Serie A chairman Gaetano Micciche had been looking to seal the three-year rights for all of last season, and finally saw the new deal come to fruition on Wednesday evening.

Sky will now be able to show a staggering 266 games per season, which equates to seventy percent of each week's fixtures. Serie A will also benefit from new subscribers to the two media companies, as well as a share of their revenues, and could net an additional €100m per season.

Spanish company Mediapro were the initial frontrunners to seal their inability to provide evidence of being able to fully financially commit to the deal saw Serie A authorities pull the plug on the deal. Once the deal was scrapped, the rights were put up for sale again, which saw Sky and Perform triumph over Mediaset.

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Meanwhile, Serie A champions Juventus are thought to be closing in on their first signing of the summer, after reportedly agreeing a deal with CSKA Moscow ace Aleksandr Golovin. The 22-year-old is widely believed to be one of the top young talents in Russian football, and is capable of playing in the centre of midfield as well as in more advanced positions.