Mediaset agrees Premium deal with Telecom Italia

Mediaset and Telecom Italia have agreed a deal whereby the telecom operator will distribute Mediaset Premium, including its exclusive Champions League football coverage.

From September, a new version of the Premium offering dubbed Premium Online will be made available to Telecom Italia subscribers via its TIMvision set-top.

Premium Online will provide Mediaset Premium’s complete line-up of 22 channels and 6,000 on-demand titles and episodes, available on up to 400 device types including tablets, smartphones, PCs and game consoles.

The service will be available via the TIMvision set-top via a dedicated app, as well as through smart TVs and mobile devices.

Telecom Italia’s deal with Mediaset follows similar agreements with Sky and Netflix. In April, the telco struck a deal with Sky to offer  a new online service, TIM Sky, to its subscribers via a new HD decoder powered by Frog by Wyplay.

Last month, Sky struck a deal with Netflix to distribute the subscription VoD service when it launches on Italy this autumn, via the TIMvision set-top.

“Telecom Italia goes ahead in its strategy of alliances with the greatest national and international content operators, so as to offer our customers the best television productions and incentivise the use of the infrastructure for broadband and ultrabroadband connections, which represent the future not only for the entertainment market, but also for the growth of the country’s economy. The agreement with Mediaset confirms once again the trust that the best media companies have in developing their business through TIM’S ultrabroadband, in which we are investing €5 billion to ensure dissemination of the new generation networks and European level service quality within the next two years,” said Marco Patuano, CEO of Telecom Italia.

“We are pleased that the Telecom Italia Group has recognised that ‘Premium Online’ is an undeniable offer for its customers. The quality and the exclusive nature of Mediaset Group’s TV content prove to be essential for the real spread of ultrabroadband in our country. It is a first major step towards the creation of the much sought-after triple/quadruple play offer, which will truly integrate contents and technology. An innovation that in Italy too can change the consumer experience in terms of the convenience and efficiency of the service and in terms of cost,” said  Marco Giordani, CEO of RTI-Mediaset.