Sky, Tim and Dazn claim €1.9 billion in damages for Serie A

The long clash over Serie A, which has moved from satellite to streaming, now enters its most delicate phase: that of economic damages. After years of investigations, reports (including from other operators ranging from Fastweb to Vodafone, Wind Tre and Open Fiber), appeals and administrative rulings, Sky has decided to bring Tim and Dazn before the Court of Milan with a request for compensation, which may reach up to 1.9 billion, for the agreement on Serie A rights for the three-year period 2021-24. That agreement was sanctioned by the Antitrust Authority as a 'serious agreement restricting competition'.

Hence the claim for damages, as relaunched by Reuters, which comes at the end of a long administrative and judicial process. In fact, the Authority headed by Roberto Rustichelli, most recently with its decision of 22 December 2025 published on 12 January 2026, confirmed the existence of the infringement and the duration of the anti-competitive conduct, quantified at one year and seven months.

At the heart of the proceedings is the 'Deal Memo Distribution' signed on 27 January 2021 by Tim and Dazn, i.e. before the tender for the assignment of the Serie A television rights, which brought the top league into the arms of the streaming platform that still has exclusive broadcasting rights for all 10 weekly matches (with Sky co-exclusive on three matches).

That pact, according to the Antitrust Authority, ended up not being reducible to a simple commercial agreement. Tim undertook to economically support Dazn in the race for the rights, guaranteeing a important guaranteed annual minimum, and Dazn, in exchange, accepted constraints that, the Agcm established, reduced its commercial autonomy and distribution freedom. The result, the Authority established, was the limitation of the possibility for the sports platform to enter into partnerships with competing operators, favouring on the other hand the exclusive integration of Serie A in Timvision's offers and restricting competition in the market.

The proceedings dragged on for years. First Antitrust ruling in 2023, appeals to the Lazio Tar in 2024 and then to the Council of State in 2025. All judgments confirmed the structure of the infringement. In January 2026 also came the redetermination of the sanctions: 3.6 million to Dazn and 760,776 euros to Tim (against the 7.2 million euros and 800 thousand euros initially decided).