Sky Italia seeks EU ruling on Italy soccer rights

By Jo Winterbottom and David Lawsky

MILAN/LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - Satellite broadcaster Sky Italia, owned by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, has called on the European Union to intervene over Italy's plans to change the way the $1 billion soccer rights market is operated.

"Sky believes there are a number of infringements of competition law ... the size of the market clearly passes the threshold," a source close to the issue said.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission said that it had received a copy of the complaint.

No-one was immediately available to comment at the Italian Communications Ministry.

Italy's government introduced the changes, which effectively move the sale of rights to collective bargaining for the 2010-11 season, at the start of this year.

It has since called an election in April which opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, owner of Italy's biggest private broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and of Serie A soccer club AC Milan, is currently poll favourite to win.

The outgoing government's changes will give Lega Calcio, Italy's soccer league, control over selling broadcasting rights on behalf of all clubs in the 700 million euros ($1.09 billion) market and will ban any sublicensing.

In addition, they will put secondary rights -- to production, for example -- with individual clubs, which could mean companies win broadcast rights but then have to negotiate the rights to place cameras at the club's stadium.