CBS Sports, the Paramount-owned US national network, has renewed its multi-platform media rights deal with Italian men's soccer’s top-tier Serie A for another season.
Through the extension, the broadcaster will continue to provide exclusive English- and Italian-language coverage of the 20-team league through the end of the 2026-2027 campaign.
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CBS Sports will show 420 matches next season, including all fixtures from Serie A, the Coppa Italia knockout competition, and the Supercoppa Italiana.
All 380 Serie A matches next season will be streamed live on Paramount+, along with at least 20 Coppa Italia matches and every Supercoppa Italiana fixture.
Select matches will also air across CBS Sports' linear and digital ecosystem, including the CBS Television Network, CBS Sports Network, and the 24/7 FAST channel, CBS Sports Golazo Network.
In addition, CBS Sports will provide shoulder programming, including pre- and post-match studio shows, on-site production and coverage from selected matches, and digital coverage across CBSSports.com and CBS Sports social media platforms.
The original CBS-Serie A tie-up began in 2021-22 when the broadcaster and the league struck a three-season deal worth a reported $75 million per year. That contract was renewed for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 campaigns.
The new agreement is reportedly valued “in the low eight figures” annually, a substantial decrease from the initial 2021 deal.
Before CBS, heavyweight sports broadcaster ESPN held Serie A rights in the US.
There is significant US interest in Serie A, with several national team stars featuring in the league, including AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Juventus’ Weston McKennie.
Paramount’s soccer portfolio in the US also includes Europe’s elite UEFA Champions League club competition and rights to the English Football League, the organizer of the second, third, and fourth tiers of the country’s soccer league pyramid.
Meanwhile, Serie A has announced a new multi-year partnership with artificial intelligence technology and scheduling platform Fastbreak.ai.
As part of the deal, the league will use the tech company’s scheduling software platform – Fastbreak Pro Schedule – to manage fixtures, meet club needs, and optimize competitive balance.
Developed using machine learning and AI, Fastbreak Pro Schedule enables Serie A to create season fixtures and “balance hundreds of rules and constraints, including club sporting needs, blackout windows, rest periods, venue availability and broadcast requirements to generate optimal matchups.”
Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Lega Serie A, said: “Building the season calendar requires balancing the sporting needs of clubs, respecting supporters, broadcasters, competition, and local requirements in an increasingly complex environment.
“Fastbreak gives us a powerful tool to navigate that complexity more efficiently. Their technology is proven to manage the scheduling demands of the world's leading sports organizations and will help us deliver a fixture list that places all the needs we receive and have to consider at the center of the scheduling process.”
Fastbreak's technology is also used for scheduling needs by several major professional sports leagues, including the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NRL.
John Stewart, Fastbreak AI co-founder and CEO, added: “Our technology is built to give sports leagues the flexibility and control to meet the evolving demands that go into creating a season-long schedule.
“With some of global football's most competitive clubs competing in Serie A, a solution that can efficiently account for the needs of the teams and athletes while preserving competitive integrity is critical. We're proud to partner with the league to help deliver fixtures that reflect those priorities.”
