Sky targets €1.9bn damages in TIM DAZN Serie A dispute
Sky is seeking up to €1.9bn in damages from Telecom Italia and DAZN over their 2021 Serie A distribution deal, escalating a long-running dispute that has shaped Italy’s pay-TV and streaming rights market.
Sky has launched legal action in Milan seeking up to €1.9bn in damages from Telecom Italia (TIM) and sports streamer DAZN, arguing that a 2021 distribution agreement around Serie A rights breached competition rules and harmed Sky financially and reputationally.The claim is a major aftershock from the 2021 rights cycle, when DAZN secured the right to show all Serie A matches in Italy for the 2021–2024 seasons for €2.5bn and then struck a preferential distribution partnership with TIM.Sky says the arrangement was structured to exclude it from the market, in a dispute that has implications well beyond football given Sky’s pay-TV and broadband positioning and TIM’s role as a connectivity and distribution gatekeeper.TIM disclosed the scale of the claim in documentation released with its first-quarter results, saying it was informed of the lawsuit on March 25 and that the case was filed in recent weeks.Sky is seeking €1.1bn in compensation linked to lost profit, with the total rising to as much as €1.9bn once interest of €500m and up to €380m of alleged brand devaluation are included.TIM said the damages calculation is based on confidential expert assessments commissioned by Sky.The legal action follows a 2023 decision by Italy’s antitrust authority, which concluded the TIM-DAZN agreement restricted competition and resulted in financial penalties for both companies after clauses were amended.The regulator fined TIM €800,000 and DAZN €7.2m, with subsequent appeals leading to DAZN’s penalty being reduced to €3.6m, while the underlying decision was ultimately upheld and became final.In its results documentation, TIM said any compensation would be shared between TIM and DAZN, although the criteria for allocation have not been defined.All parties declined to comment on the lawsuit.TIM said it expects key hearings to take place in the final quarter of 2026, setting up a lengthy timetable that could keep uncertainty in the background as Italy’s sports rights market continues to evolve across pay-TV, telco bundles and direct-to-consumer streaming.