Superbike in Italy without Sky? Unbundled rights, aim for free-to-air TV: who will broadcast Bulega and his rivals?

In recent days Sky Sport announced the renewal of MotoGP rights in Italy for the next two years, 2026–27. However, the Superbike situation is still up in the air: on which channel will we see the battle between Nicolò Bulega and his rivals?

In recent years the pay TV network has had a monopoly on the speed World Championships, so many took for granted that the complicated negotiations for the MotoGP renewal would also encompass rights to the production-derived series. But that’s not the case: Dorna–Liberty Media didn’t find more profitable alternatives to SKY for the top class, but they have “unbundled” Superbike, which could therefore end up on another channel. And perhaps—this is speculation—it could pave the way for the future MotoGP deal, i.e., from 2028 onwards.

In the strategic vision of the new American owners, MotoGP is set to become a global, mainstream sporting spectacle, one that can appeal even to those who don’t own a motorcycle and never will. Therefore, a World Championship can’t be aimed almost exclusively at an enthusiast audience, as it is now. We discussed it in depth here. So for Liberty, bringing MotoGP onto a mainstream Italian TV channel would have been beneficial. Yes, but which one? Mediaset and Rai, at the moment, can’t afford to invest several million euros per year for a MotoGP that currently lacks a mass-audience magnet like Valentino Rossi. Excluding La7, now out of the sports rights market, SKY was able to negotiate the renewal from a position of strength, leveraging the reach of the satellite bouquet, which remains decisive even for OTTs. Just look at DAZN, which had to come to terms with SKY to maximize the value of Serie A rights. The opposite happened with Eurosport: after leaving the SKY bouquet last July, it has become almost invisible to the Italian public, despite belonging to Discovery–Warner Bros., one of the global entertainment majors.

Both SKY and promoter Dorna confirm, unofficially, that the race for Superbike World Championship rights is still very open. Here, things are made easier by the different order of magnitude in value, because the rights cost is much lower than MotoGP’s. This means it could be a viable and attractive bet for Rai and Mediaset, while WorldSBK could “sell,” even prospectively, a prestigious pairing beyond sheer ratings. An OTT option could also be intriguing for the future, but by going to DAZN or Discovery it would be very difficult for Superbike to reach a wider audience than SKY, considering that the two long races have always been broadcast live and free-to-air on sister channel TV8.

So, whatever happens, for us fans not much will change in terms of visibility: with Sky and TV8, Superbike in Italy has enjoyed very good accessibility in recent years. For SKY, in any case, it’s a “nice-to-have”; the main course of the schedule is still MotoGP. By changing channel, therefore, Superbike could receive more attentive editorial treatment: more airtime, live links from the pits, in-depth shows. But above all, if SBK changes channel, it could be the trajectory that anticipates MotoGP’s next moves. In a few days we’ll have the solution to the puzzle.

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