Football and TV rights. Russo: “Sky surprised Amazon, but the market is saturated”

Football and TV rights. Russo: “Sky surprised Amazon, but the market is saturated”

“We are at a turning point.” Pippo Russo, professor of Sociologyjournalist and author of novels on football, analyzes theevolution of the television rights market in the world of football. The rights for the three-year period 2024-27 have recently been defined. With important news: no more sharing agreements on multiple platforms. Sky has decided to block the viewing of European cups, imposing exclusivity for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference. For Pippo Russo it is a turning point that marks “the end of the unlimited growth of the market”.

The saturated market of TV rights

After years of fat cows, we are therefore starting to glimpse a period of downsizing for the TV rights market. “TV players have started to think about which market segment is most convenient to invest in. They are no longer willing to focus on all fronts.” For Russo, the time has come to make choices for television operators. “The prospect of investing increasing sums in a saturated market is no longer profitable.” We don’t have any yet official figures invested for this three-year period, but the rumors circulating in 2023 signaled an outlay of around 660 million euros for the television rights of Champions League, Europa League and Conference League for 2024-27. “Italian football is behind in terms of TV rights, if you look at the revenue it manages to generate compared to other countries. If, however, we put it on the level of reflux, it is at the forefront: we have a market that has become saturated before the others”.

Sky’s sensible move

For some time the numbers of subscribe to the platforms they don’t grow. According to Russo, it is inevitable that television players will have to opt for choices, such as Sky’s decision to bet everything on European cups. “Sky’s strategy makes sense. The Champions League continues to be one competition that has appeal. Especially now that it has been expanded with the new format. It certainly attracts more than the championship, and it makes sense to secure it with an exclusive offer.”

Amazon surprised, has to decide what to do when he grows up

The all-in of Sky temporarily put the biggest player that had recently entered the Italian TV rights market out of action, Amazon. “They were also taken aback by Sky, they probably wanted to try a bigger investment later”. According to Russo, the giant of Jeff Bezos “he must understand what he wants to do on the Italian market when he grows up. Prime Video’s role needs to be clarified. At the moment he has invested in a small niche, a taste of the market. To really understand the meaning of insertion, Amazon needs to invest more. The formula adopted so far of broadcasting only one Champions League match per matchday made little sense.” There are two options for the future of Prime Video in Italy, according to Russo: “grow big or leave it alone”.

TV rights, viewing and sports journalism

The sociologist’s point of view allows us to observe the evolution of the enjoyment of football through the assignment of television rights. “The way we see football is changing. I don’t think it will supplant all the others, but we will have further diversification. The public is increasingly segmented, with a difference between old fans of match from the first to the last minute and the younger ones who seem to orient themselves towards seeing the salient episodes or only the final minutes”. For Russo we are faced with “one different enjoyment of football. We are no longer exposed to the same event in the same way.” This is also leading to an evolution in the way of reporting on football and in spot journalism. “Depending on how we see football, its narrative also changes. And as a result, newsrooms evolve. We will move towards the downsizing of the ranks and new forms of hybridization. The general trend is that of a redefinition with a reduction in the number of journalists”.