Sky, Mediaset, others bid for Italy soccer rights

* Sky Italia, Mediaset, Dahlia TV among bidders

* Soccer league decision in seven days

MILAN, July 27 (Reuters) - Five companies including News Corp's (NWSA.O) unit Sky Italia and Mediaset (MS.MI) have placed bids for six packages of audiovisual and radio rights to soccer matches in Italy's top league for the next two seasons, the country's Lega Calcio soccer association said on Monday.

On Friday, the Italian antitrust authority opened a probe into the lucrative TV rights sale because it suspected it was set up to benefit incumbent pay-TV operators and not viewers.

Lega Calcio defended its action, saying it had stuck to the rules. [ID:nLO347118]

The Italian pay-TV market is dominated by Sky Italia. It is being challenged by a digital terrestrial offer from Mediaset, a company controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Digital terrestrial broadcaster Dahlia TV, owned by Sweden's Airplus TV, also bid, as well as domestic private radio station RTL 102.5 and internet company TheBlogTV, the Lega Calcio said in a statement.

It did not say which packages these companies placed bids for nor did it give price details.

Only three of the six packages up for sale regard rights to live broadcast Serie A matches - one for satellite and two for digital terrestrial platforms.

According to the tender document, Lega Calcio will assign the packages within seven days.

By the same deadline, it will also decide whether to tender or sell through a private negotiation any unassigned packages.

The soccer association aims to raise at least 895.8 million euros ($1.28 billion) from the 2010/11 rights sale and 927 million euros from the following season, according to Reuters calculations based on figures in the tender document.

The Serie A league in Italy includes global giants such as Juventus (JUVE.MI), Inter Milan and its city rival AC Milan, owned by Berlusconi.

Revenues at clubs are driven mainly by TV rights and matches are watched by millions.

(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Editing by Marie Maitre)

($1=.7011 Euro)