The dispute centred on about Eur200 million from the 2010-11 season, with the total to be shared according to the size of each club's supporter base. After months of fraught negotiations, in which a split emerged between the top five clubs - Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Roma and Napoli - and the rest, the breakthrough came at a league assembly.
According to TV Sports Markets, the income is to be distributed by taking into account surveys of supporter bases and audience ratings for live Serie A matches. The key to the settlement was the 15 small clubs agreeing to a significant reduction in the weight given to audience ratings compared to the survey findings.
The clubs also agreed the guidelines for their sale of media rights for the next three seasons, from 2012-13 through to the 2014-15 campaign. The guidelines will now be sent for approval to the country’s antitrust and communications authorities. If the guidelines are approved, the league, and its media adviser, Infront Sports & Media, will be able to auction the rights in the autumn.
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