BT Sport has expanded its coverage of top-flight European domestic football, incorporating Italy’s Serie A into its broadcasting portfolio.
Under the terms of the three-season contract, the UK subscription broadcaster will provide live coverage of all Serie A matches until 2024, beginning on 21 August.
Every match will be broadcast on the opening round of fixtures, whilst at least five live games shown each round, amounting to a total of over 200 live games across the 2021/22 season alone.
Rachel Knight, Sports Rights Director at BT Sport, said: “We want to provide our customers with the best sport from across the world and the addition of Serie A means viewers will get to follow some of the biggest stars, managers and clubs in world football.
“European football has always been an important part of our line-up, with Serie A now joining our exclusive coverage of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League, alongside France’s Ligue 1.”
In addition, a weekly Serie A show evaluating the key storylines from each weekend will also be incorporated into BT’s overall coverage of the tournament, hosted by Italian football expert James Richardson.
The announcement follows the Italian national team’s success in the UEFA 2020 European Championship final against England, whilst last season’s Serie A showcased a yearlong battle between cross-city rivals Inter Milan and AC Milan.
Furthermore, international audiences will likely keenly follow Jose Mourinho’s return to the Italian top-flight with AS Roma, as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus work to retain their status as a continental force, having finished in the top-four by just one point last season.
BT Sport’s media broadcasting portfolio currently includes select Premier League matches and UK and Irish rights to France’s Ligue 1 as well coverage of Premiership Rugby.
However, BT has hinted at selling its sports subsidiary, with streaming service DAZN and free-to-air broadcaster ITV both reportedly interested, although it has also been reported that the latter has withdrawn from negotiations.
