Five Set To Screen Italian Football

Terrestrial broadcaster Five is believed to have struck a deal for the TV rights
to screen action from Italy’s top flight football league Serie A.

Five is expected to air Italian football coverage from the start of the
2007-8 season later this year, principally through a highlights package although
there will be the provision of selected live rights as well.

The production contract for the coverage is to be handled by Sunset+Vine,
whose parent company Tinopolis confirmed the contract.

Sunset+Vine already produce Five’s highlights coverage of Test match cricket.

The move represents the first time Italian football has been screened on UK
terrestrial television since 2002 when Channel 4 broadcast highlights coverage.

Channel 4 first brought Serie A football to UK television in 1992 following
the move of Paul Gascoigne to Lazio and screened matches and highlights until
2002, when it dropped the contract.

The rights to Serie A are currently held by satellite channels Bravo and
Setanta Sports who took over from British Eurosport in 2005 in a joint deal.

Five declined to respond to the speculation.