Italian soccer clubs seek jumbo compensation in broadcast rights case

(Reuters) - Top Italian soccer clubs are seeking billions of euros in damages from three media agencies for alleged lost revenues from the sale of international broadcasting rights in 2008-2018, a court document and legal sources involved in the matter said.

The dispute follows a 2019 Italian antitrust ruling which found that media agencies IMG, MP & Silva and Be4 coordinated in bidding for the rights, restricting competition.

The antitrust decision prompted nearly two dozen clubs, including AC Milan, Inter Milan, Torino, Fiorentina and the Serie A league itself, to sue the agencies in a Milan court, the sources and the document said.

Serie A is seeking around 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in lost revenues, the document showed.

Francesco Anglani, a partner with the BonelliErede law firm which represents teams including Torino, Fiorentina and AS Roma in the case, said the individual clubs' damage claims in aggregate surpassed 3 billion euros.

"This is the first time that an antitrust damage action has been brought in Italy for such significant amounts," he said.

The media agencies have rejected any responsibility and said proceeds generated from the sales were in line with market prices, the document showed.

Serie A collected about 1 billion euros from the sales of international media licenses covering the decade from 2008.

Broadcasting rights are the main revenue source for Italian clubs but have proved far less lucrative than for England's Premier League and Spain's La Liga.

Some of the clubs involved in the action have been relegated to lower leagues.

"We have meritorious defences to the claims raised and will continue to defend ourselves vigorously," an IMG spokesperson told Reuters, adding IMG could not comment beyond that on a confidential legal matter.

Representatives of MP & Silva, which has ceased to operate and is been liquidated, could not be reached for comment. A lawyer for MP & Silva said they were not authorised to comment.

Lawyers for Be4, which also is being liquidated, did not respond to a comment request. Be4 representatives could not be reached. Serie A declined to comment.

Court-appointed experts are set to assess the size of any damages by April 2025, said two sources familiar with the case. The court will later decide on the actual merits of the claims.

Serie A has sought an out-of-court settlement but negotiations were fruitless so far, said two other sources with knowledge of the matter. The league is also considering selling the claims to specialised investment funds to bring in cash faster for its clubs, the two sources added.