Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has insisted that football should be freely available from all over the world. The Italian businessman made the comments during a recent appearance at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit in London. The conference was attended by top sports officials from various countries.
“It should be free for everyone. If you want to maintain your audience, you have to live on free television,” De Laurentiis declared.
“And as an entrepreneur, you have to know how to organize big publicity. How to present football is also important. In Italy, not only stadiums that are dilapidated and not comfortable for spectators, but also on TV That’s what we’re talking about.”
Top soccer divisions Serie A and Premier League set broadcast records
Despite De Laurentiis' claims, TV deals between broadcasters and soccer leagues will only increase. In fact, the latest domestic contract in Serie A, Napoli's division, was recently sold for $4.77 billion. DAZN and Sky Italia will share broadcasting duties during the five-year contract period. The agreement will come into force at the start of the 2024/25 Serie A season.
The Premier League's domestic television deals raised even more money in England. The BBC, Sky Sports and TNT Sports will broadcast live top-flight games in installments at a cost of $8.45 billion over four years. This deal will start from the 2025/26 campaign. These deals don't even include foreign broadcast rights, which would bring in even more money for the league.
De Laurentiis says the world of football should consider how F1 is broadcast. The Global Racing division remains the most popular sports league around the world and uses unique technology for broadcasting.
“Why in F1 you get the feeling of being in the cockpit with the driver, but in soccer you don't get that at all?'' asks the Napoli executive.
“I like to choose my own way, but I always say that the best example of how to broadcast a match is the World Cup final between Argentina and France. But football as a sport is getting old. We should sit at the table and reflect, but our table is like a big circus, and if we stop and think too much, we will be labeled traitors.”
Napoli executives' hopes for free live soccer broadcasts are unlikely to come true
It seems highly unlikely that live soccer matches will be available for free to all fans in the near future. Broadcasting deals have always been lucrative for those involved, and will almost certainly continue to be so in the future. In fact, TV contracts seem to break previous monetary records with every new deal signed.
But De Laurentiis may be onto something about how technology can improve the game of football. Matches may not immediately become free for fans, but viewers could benefit from increased access to television from the pitch.
Photo courtesy: IMAGO / Gribaudi/ImagePhoto: IMAGO / Pacific Press Agency
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