Telecom Italia says in talks with Netflix over content deal

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's biggest phone company, Telecom Italia said on Tuesday it was in talks with Netflix over a possible content deal with the U.S. online movie streaming company. "We are in talks also with Netflix," Telecom Italia Chief Executive Marco Patuano told a parliamentary hearing. "In some European countries (Netflix) has chosen to make deals with telecoms operators," he added, recalling that Netflix services are available on the TV platform of Belgium's national telecoms company Belgacom. Like other telecoms companies Telecom Italia is moving into the content market to find new sources of income as sales from its traditional voice services decline as competition from online firms increases. Telecom Italia has already signed a non-exclusive content deal with Britain's Sky and is also in talks with Mediaset, the TV company controlled by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. Patuano said on Tuesday the whole Sky content will be made available to its clients in the coming months. (Reporting by Alberto Sisto; writing by Danilo Masoni; editing by Louise Heavens)