Serie A viewers up, ticket sales down

Season ticket sales have plummeted 20 per cent over the last three years, but pay-per-view television viewers rose 69 per cent.
The Gazzetta dello Sport today claims since 2008 the fans with season tickets at the stadium have dropped by 20.4 per cent.

In the same period, those signed up to Sky Italia television have gone up by 69 per cent.

Unlike in Britain, there are no rules limiting the transmission of live football, so every single Serie A and B game is available live on pay-per-view television, often at a cheaper rate than in the UK.

However, these statistics do not count those who watch games on terrestrial digital platform Mediaset Premium, which provides even easier access to Serie A and Europa League football.

In the most recent Serie A round, the total combined pay-per-view television viewers for games burst through the 10m mark for the first time.

Highlights on free to air television are also readily available within an hour of the match coming to a close, though this is reduced to mere minutes when it comes to evening games.

This all goes to explain why Italy’s stadiums are only on average 61 per cent full compared to 69 per cent in France, 73 per cent in Spain, 88 in Germany and 92 per cent in England.

Add to the fact that most Italian stadiums are crap.

But not for long!