Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has said that Italian football “will die” after DAZN and Sky kept rights to screen live matches in Serie A for the next five seasons.
Both DAZN and Sky secured broadcasting rights for live Serie A matches, with Italian clubs approving bids totalling at least €4.5billion (£3.91bn).
Following four months of negotiations, Serie A clubs convened in Milan on Monday to evaluate the final proposals presented by streaming services DAZN and Sky, which equated to around €900million (£783.8m) annually until the conclusion of the 2028-2029 season.
DAZN have offered €700m (£609.4m) per season to broadcast all 10 Serie A games until 2029, while Sky added circa €200m (£174m) more per season to screen three matches each weekend.
Seventeen of the 20 Serie A clubs supported the proposal, although it faced strong opposition from Napoli owner De Laurentiis.
He said: “It’s a loss for Italian football which will die with these offers.
“Sky and DAZN are not competent, they don’t do the good of Italian football. The value of our football must go through investments and fans are our absolute good.”
Media rights in Serie A contribute to half of the revenues of its teams and the league’s organisation.
Unlike the Premier League, Serie A lags behind England’s top-flight regarding income made from broadcasting opportunities.
In the current three-year agreement set to expire next June, Serie A is generating around €930m (£809.6m) annually from the sale of its broadcasting rights in Italy, with DAZN continuing to hold the majority share.
Serie A matches are currently still accessible across the globe. In 2021, BT Sport, now rebranded as TNT Sport, bought broadcasting rights to stream Italian league games until 2023-24. American viewers are able to access matches through CBS, who acquired the league’s broadcast rights from ESPN in 2021 in a reported three-year deal worth $75m (£61.4m) per season.
GO DEEPER
‘It still burns’ - The Maradona match that led to the creation of the Champions League
(Photo: Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Get all-access to exclusive stories.
Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.
