Serie A TV rights, between farce and reality

Imagine if they told us in the early days streams And Tele+that, in the event of an offside situation, we could have seen and heard the dialogue between the referees and linesmen on television. Think how we would have reacted if they had even given us the opportunity to listen to the players’ speeches on the bus before they got to the stadium and while they were “testing” the pitch. We rightly would have had a hard time believing it and even taking it seriously. But all that from 2024it will come true

More money for the league, less for the fans

The announcement that has just been published could be summarized with one motto: “More money for us, less for you”. A motto for what We means the Serie A league while for You obviously football fans and supporters of (at least for the time being) twenty clubs of the Italian top division. Already why the big newsAs the managing director Luigi De Siervo announced with great pomp, more money should flow into Series A: thanks to the modification of the Melandri Law In fact, if Senator Lotito so desires and obtains it, the television rights to the championship can be transferred for a maximum duration of 5 years and no longer than 3 years.

But that’s not all: the league actually intends to sell the main package – currently in the hands of DAZN, with 9 exclusive games – to both operators.

Interviewed by republic In unaware times, when the tender we are talking about was still in the pipeline, Luigi De Siervo called it “the most difficult of all time”. That’s because Serie A presidents were aware of the flop of DAZN – which, among other things, no longer has the support of Tim, who is fundamental in the award of the latest television rights tender – and, inevitably, the game of chess if considering the high standards of the presidents (with water in the throat) were complex to play. The need of “split” the main package.which was previously always assigned to a single operator, was created here.

Dazn, who went all-in two years ago thanks to Tim’s support, has long since made it clear to Via Rosellini that he will not invest that much again; At Sky, on the other hand, the situation is at an all-time low. Relations between the Serie A league and Rupert Murdoch’s club have always been excellent, forged over almost twenty years through agreements worth millions, even billions. However, everything collapsed with the advent of the pandemic when the championship was suspended and then resumed without an audience in the summer and Sky refused to pay the second tranche of the 870 million euros (and demanded a force majeure discount) while thehe decided to switch to Serie A Court.

The judgment issued just last year forced Sky to do so pay the rate in question (131 million euros) and some speculate that this is also behind the presidents’ decision to bet on Dazn.

The fact is that by selling the nine tenders exclusively to both operators, the aim is to win at least 1 billion from euros, but leave a third pack for sale: the one that offers the exclusivity of the Saturday night game. How much is this new pack worth? According to estimates, at least 100 million euros are needed to reach the record value. Thanks to the successful experiment with the exclusive Champions League game, Amazon was able to win; However, competition from Mediaset cannot be ruled out, which could result in a Serie A match being broadcast freely on Canale 5 or Italia 1.

Series A TV rights

insane packages

The announcement was littered with options, never like this one: among the many “crazy” packs (8) we have the formula of “6+3+1”, which provides 6 exclusive races on one side, 3 on the other and the rest with a third organizer, so in total – for the fan/spectator of course – no less than three season tickets. Not to mention the package”Black Friday”: Matches split in half between two broadcasters (e.g. 5 to Sky and 5 to Dazn) throughout the season; except during the Christmas period, when only one of the two offers all games exclusively for three weeks. Something that inspires the most transhuman American acceleration dystopias.

Here are the eight options that can be modulated over three, four or five years, for a total of 21 combinations. It sums them up nicely (and clearly). football and finance:

– package 1: 10 games per day for one operator; 3 games per day for a second operator via satellite and digital terrestrial television (co-exclusive); 3 games per day for a third party operator via the Internet (co-exclusive);

– package 2: 6 games per day for one operator (exclusive); 3 games per day for a second operator (exclusive); one game per day for a third party (only on Saturdays at 8:45 p.m., also free-to-air);

– package 3: 9 games per day for one operator (exclusive); 1 game per day for a second operator (only on Saturdays at 8:45 p.m., also free-to-air);

– package 4: 8 games per day for one operator (exclusive); 2 games per day for a second promoter (exclusively on Saturdays at 8:45 p.m. and Sundays at 6:00 p.m., also free-to-air);

– package 5: 7 games per day for one operator (exclusive); 3 games per day for a second operator (exclusively on Saturdays at 20:45, Sundays at 12:30 and Sundays at 18:00);

– package 6: 5 games per day for one operator (exclusive over 35 days); 5 games per day for a second operator (exclusive for 35 days); 10 games per day for a third operator (exclusive on the remaining 3 days);

– package 7: 10 games per day for two operators (total co-exclusivity);

– package 8: 9 games per day for two operators (co-exclusive); 1 game per day for a third organizer (only on Saturdays at 8.45 p.m., also free-to-air).

Series A TV rights

The usual will always be the losers

Apparently, understanding how we’ll see Series A in 2024 is like talking about nuclear physics. Also because both competitors do not seem willing to invest large sums of money and there is talk of a large gap between the requests of the league and the possible offers of the main operators. Therefore, it seems difficult, if not impossible, for one of the two to snag the whole pie like Dazn did in the previous tender. But the certainty is: The only losers in the beginning are the enthusiaststhe fans, those who want (for pleasure) or need (for work) to watch all the games.

Not to mention the streaming issues pointed out The road is paved to say the least. If it’s true that Sky launched a very important project like the ‘Sky Glass’ – a Sky-branded TV that replaces the decoder – last year and wants to make the ‘football pack’ its spearhead again, it certainly seems not being willing to invest astronomical sums. As for Dazn, which in these two years has accustomed us to a bad service, surely lower earnings will not guarantee a better service, quite the opposite.

In principle, finally, someone might object that denying the Series A rights monopoly and handing them over to multiple operators (two/three in this case) would open the door to one price competition for the potential benefit of fans, perhaps with season tickets at a discounted price unless they ‘switch’ to the competition. We are sorry to have to play the role of spoilsport, but it is a real chimera considering that the amount to be paid to get the rights will still be high and the revenues will be lower than currently.

The only thing that won’t change and will only get worse is the quality of the product.

Starting with a football stew where we are European leaders (a great record), with matches spread across each Monday to Friday time slot. If we look elsewhere, the decision was made in Germany four years ago delete those monday night to meet the fans; A choice that was also followed by La Liga in Spain. But even the opulent and spectacular Premier is less fragmented than we are. Not to mention what the struggle of two or three operators with physiological commercial needs can have in store for us.

All in a Lega Serie A handout, even a little awkward given the presidents being forced to sell Packages as if they were cookware setsfor 3, but also 4 or 5 years, maybe with discounts for the first 1000 customers, but without a formula Refund warranty (which would be a problem there). There is much talk about the revival of Italian football, as if a year’s European results are enough to judge the health of a movement. But considering what we need to do to make ends meet and give clubs and presidents oxygen, more than a few concerns should arise.