Sky ‘in advanced talks’ to acquire Mediaset Premium

European pay-television broadcaster Sky is in advanced talks with Mediaset to acquire the Italian media group’s Premium pay-television service, according to a report in Il Sole 24 Ore.

The newspaper said that negotiations started in November and the two parties are now very close to agreeing a price – an issue that was originally a stumbling block.

Any deal is almost certain to be investigated by Italy’s competition authority. Sky and Mediaset Premium both have rights to Serie A, the country’s top division of football.

A sale of Mediaset Premium to media company Vivendi fell through last year.

Last month Mediaset said that it could scale back its coverage of football if the rights become too costly. Mediaset also said that it would open up its domestic digital-terrestrial pay-television platform to third-party content platforms.