Telecom Italia was forced to cut its earnings forecast for the third time in a year, mainly attributable to its fixed-line business and lower than expected revenue from a streaming partnership with Dazn.

The operator issued a statement warning it expected a low-teens decrease in 2021 organic EBITDA-AL for its Italian business.

Telecom Italia agreed a €1 billion streaming deal with Dazn covering Italian football earlier this year, however it is now trying to cut the cost of the agreement.

Any non-recurring provisions will be determined on the basis of its renegotiation and would be booked in its 2021 financial statements, it explained.

The warning comes two months after it forecast a high single digit decrease for the year and a previous expectation of a mid single digit drop.

When issuing the cut forecast in October, Telecom Italia’s largest shareholder Vivendi ordered an extraordinary meeting to discuss the operator’s strategy.

Shortly after, US private equity company KKR launched a €10.7 billion takeover offer and the bid was followed by the resignation of CEO Luigi Gubitosi.

Telecom Italia’s board are due to meet tomorrow (17 December) to discuss the takeover offer.

Reuters reported Vivendi is also considering a board shake-up in an attempt to oust Gubitosi from his seat, which he retained despite resigning as CEO, believing the executive is a key reason for the operator’s poor performance.