Lega Serie A are reportedly considering abandoning exclusive broadcaster rights for the league in a bid to generate more revenue.
Repubblica Affari & Finanza detail how Serie A are preparing to allocate a new three or five-year cycle of broadcasting rights for matches, and they’ve taken a close look at how things have been managed in Serie B for inspiration.
The Italian second tier did not allow any exclusivity for the 2021-2024 broadcasting rights bid, setting a single fee schedule for interested parties. This move was a success and practically doubled broadcasting revenues, from €26.7m to €50m, with three different companies showing matches: DAZN, Sky Sports and Helbiz.
Lega Serie A have carefully evaluated the idea and are now considering adopting it for their upcoming discussions about broadcasting rights. The Italian topflight is currently exclusively shown on DAZN, which has seen domestic revenues drop from €973m to €927.5m.
Another factor that helps Lega Serie A are the guidelines approved by AgCom, the regulator and competition authority for the Italian communications industry. They’ve specified how the matches should be broadcast by as many operators as possible, guaranteeing a plurality of offers and reducing the average price.