Italy’s competition watchdog and financial police searched the offices of Mediaset SpA and Sky Italia, part of Sky Plc, yesterday in an investigation into the sale of Serie A rights, police and sources with knowledge of the matter said.

Italy’s soccer league awarded rights to air matches of the eight main Italian teams in the three seasons to 2018 to both companies in June last year following an auction that was delayed due to legal complaints by rivals.

The official outcome of the auction was tweaked in a deal that gave Sky Italia exclusive rights to broadcast matches of the other 12 teams in Serie A, a package initially awarded to Mediaset.

The sources said searches were also being carried out at the offices of the Italian soccer league and Infront, the Swiss-based agency that managed the auction process.

Both Sky Italia and Mediaset already held rights to air Serie A matches in previous seasons.

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