Italian broadcaster Mediaset and pay-TV rival Sky Italia are in contact over a potential agreement involving Mediaset's pay-TV unit Premium after its aborted sale to Vivendi, according to two unnamed sources cited by Reuters. "There has been contact to understand what to do beyond 2018," said one source, referring to the need to submit a joint bid for costly Champions League and Serie A football rights that expire in 2018 and are due for auction in the first half of 2017. However, the parties can’t begin formal talks until Mediaset and France’s Vivendi resolve their legal battle over their collapsed deal, added another source.
In that regard, Mediaset has announced that it’s dropped an urgent request for a court to order the seizure of a 3.5 percent stake in Vivendi just before the first hearing due on 23 November. In a statement Mediaset said it had received assurances that its contractual rights wouldn’t be jeopardised but would still continue with its separate legal action against Vivendi on grounds of the significant potential damages to its business arising from Vivendi’s decision to abort the original sale agreement.
