Britons hoping to watch David Beckham don the red and black stripes of AC Milan will have to rely on a broadcaster snapping up the rights to show Italian football. No British broadcaster holds the rights to show Serie A matches this season, but those in the business hope that Beckham's arrival will encourage a channel to bid.

Don Paretta, the head of football for North One Television, which produced broadcasts of Italian games for many years, said: “It's incredible that one of the world's top three leagues is not available on British television. It has not helped that there is no high-profile British player in Serie A.”

However, the absence of a British player is only part of the problem. Sky has avoided the Italian league because it would clash with its coverage of Spanish football and Setanta has balked at the price demanded. ITV, with England and FA Cup games to show, feels that it has enough football, but Five or a cable channel such as Bravo may be tempted.

The company that markets the rights in the UK, Perform, would like to sell the rights for all games for £10million, although that price is unlikely to find any takers. Mike Ingram, from Perform Group, said: “We're hopeful that somebody will show interest, although we'd have been happier still if we'd have known Beckham was joining at the beginning of the season.”

Top-flight Italian games were aired on Channel 4 for many years, but in recent years audiences have dwindled, as the best games moved from the traditional Sunday afternoon slot to Saturday and Sunday nights, when a free-to-air broadcaster would not risk showing a match.

The television rights passed to Bravo and last season to Five, but neither was happy about viewing figures, which typically were about 250,000, rising for a Milan derby.

The next such match at the San Siro is due on February 15, a prospect that ought to attract a healthier audience now that Beckham could be on the pitch.