Italy’s top-tier football league, Serie A, is engaging with private equity investors over a potential minority sale in its international media rights arm, according to a report by Reuters citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation.
The league has been working with JP Morgan since 2025 to assess strategic options for the unit, which manages overseas broadcasting rights as well as related commercial activities. The business is estimated to generate roughly €250m annually – significantly below the international media revenues achieved by rival leagues such as the English Premier League and Spain’s LaLiga.
A number of large investment firms, including Apollo, CVC, Ares Management and Sixth Street, are understood to have been approached on an informal basis to gauge appetite for a deal. A more structured sale process could be launched later this month, one source indicated.
The initiative reflects Serie A’s ongoing challenges in maximising the value of its international rights. Demand from broadcasters has weakened in recent years amid an increasingly congested football calendar, with competitions such as the expanded UEFA Champions League competing for global audiences, alongside the continued dominance of the Premier League.
Under the framework currently being discussed, Serie A could divest up to 49% of the international media unit through a long-term partnership. The asset includes not only overseas broadcasting rights but also sponsorship arrangements and agreements tied to staging events such as the Italian Super Cup abroad.
The move echoes similar transactions seen across European football, where private equity firms have taken minority positions in leagues’ commercial or media businesses in exchange for upfront capital and a share in future revenues.
Serie A previously explored a comparable transaction involving its domestic media rights division in 2021. However, that process ultimately failed after member clubs were unable to secure the necessary majority approval.
Any new deal would again require backing from at least 14 of the league’s 20 clubs under existing governance rules.
