Italy's soccer league has launched talks with Spanish broker Mediapro on its 950-million-euro (£832.7 million) bid for the rights to broadcast Serie A soccer matches for the 2018-2021 seasons, the CEO of the league's advisor Infront said on Friday. Previous attempts to sell the rights - through an official auction that included bids from Italian broadcaster Mediaset and Sky Italia and later through a private sale - failed to reach the 1.05-billion-euro minimum threshold set for the deal. Infront CEO Luigi De Siervo said the league's representatives on Friday rejected Mediapro's initial offer, which included the creation of a TV channel together with the Italian soccer league that could be distributed on various platforms, but negotiations were then launched that would last at least a week. The league will also prepare a new tender for the rights targeting media operators such as Mediaset and Sky that will be launched if no deal is reached with Mediapro, De Siervo added. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)