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Italy's Serie A tenders screen rights on international flights, ships

FILE PHOTO: Italy's Lega Serie A headquarters in Milan

MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's top flight soccer league Serie A said on Monday it would tender the right to screen live matches for the 2021-2024 period on flights and ships travelling outside the country as part of a wider sale of its media rights abroad.

More than half of Serie A revenues come from broadcasting rights, but the league lags the financial heavyweights of the English Premier League or La Liga in Spain.

Serie A raised some 370 million euros ($438.08 million) each season from the sale of its broadcasting licences abroad under a three-year deal expiring next year, against some 1.6 billion euros per season raised by the Premier League.

Besides the so called 'in-flight' and 'in-ship' global package, Serie A is tendering the rights to screen its matches in 52 countries but it will also accept bids from media firms interested in buying global and continental licences.

The deadline to submit bids for Serie A's overseas media rights was set on Jan. 11, the Italian league said.

Serie A is spinning off its media rights business unit, selling a minority stake to private equity investors, in a move aimed at boosting its revenue and weathering the novel coronavirus-induced financial storm.

($1 = 0.8446 euros)

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Ken Ferris)