Serie A Giants VS. Serie A Minnows & FIGC

Ash · May 12, 2011

big clubs rage at tv rights deal

milan and juventus are among those pledging retaliation after the lega calcio voted in favour of the 15 smaller serie a sides in the battle over tv rights.

The money from pay-per-view television rights is the main source of income for italian clubs and every summer there tends to be controversy over how the funds are divided up.

The five big sides – milan, inter, juventus, roma and napoli – had protested vehemently against the other clubs following a meeting on april 15.

This is because the smaller sides picked three agencies to calculate how the television rights should be divided up and the top clubs disagreed with the choice.

Today the matter came to a head when the smaller sides won 6-5 with lega calcio president maurizio beretta’s decisive vote.

“beretta will take responsibility for his actions, including what effect it will have on the lega,” blasted milan vice-president adriano galliani.

“he abstained from the first vote and promised to do the same today, but then changed his mind.”

juventus president andrea agnelli was even more severe with the lega decision.

“there are five clubs who between them represent 75 per cent of the fans, but are forced to accept the decisions of the other teams. We have 3m people in our potential audience compared to the 300,000 of the other 15.

“we will appeal to the coni (italian olympic committee) to ensure the development of this sport. We are united with the other four big clubs and could leave the lega.

“does this mean possibly playing in the premier league or french ligue 1? We are evaluating all options.”

beretta responded with a statement insisting “in the absence of other options supported by everyone, it was difficult to avoid getting the process underway.

“in any case, i maintain there are the time and the conditions to find an agreement between all parties on how this mechanism will work.”

discuss.

benjamin · May 12, 2011

The big clubs will still give in no matter what.

Ash · May 12, 2011

benjamin said:
The big clubs will still give in no matter what.

Doubt it. Remember, Serie A would be non-existet without them...

acmilan4ever · May 12, 2011

I agree with Agnelli's comment and its actually better if they try and satisfy the bigger clubs rather than the smaller ones. Overall this would be better for Italian football imo.

“there are five clubs who between them represent 75 per cent of the fans, but are forced to accept the decisions of the other teams. We have 3m people in our potential audience compared to the 300,000 of the other 15.

It will be tough now for the five teams to get their way but clearly if they have a higher fan base and mostly all are competing in Europe then surely they deserve it. Financially it could harm Italian clubs chances to do well in Europe, teams like Milan, Inter and Juve are in the red for now with Milan looking the better than the other 2 to wipe it out but if they all lose this then the repercussions could prove to be severe for these big clubs.

Also, its a timely financial bonus for the smaller clubs but nothing more. Lets be realistic for a moment. From the 20 clubs participating in a season, 5 against 15, where the 5 big ones will most likely get into Europe and and from the 15 remaining clubs, 3 are going to get relegated and hopefully 2 more will make it in Europe so pretty much just half of the league will actually be entitled to this timely financial bonus where as 7 of the better clubs will suffer. imo, this isnt right...

Hopefully the decision gets overturned in favor of the big 5 if not then things will get ugly haha

SouthClaw · May 13, 2011

So this appears to be the row.

They have a system of surveying fans to see which teams bring the most viewers. And shares of revenue are based on how much viewership your team brings in. The big clubs have no issue with this.

The issue is that the specific systems that the 15 smaller teams agree too make no sense to anyone with half a brain. Say there is a match between Milan and Cesena that gets 1 million viewers. It's logical to assume that Milan is bringing in a lot more viewers than Cesena. But based on the calculations, credit for viewership is split 50-50 between the teams. Ultimately, this leads to shitty teams having inflated numbers(and more money) while the popular teams get deflated numbers(and less money).

Dottore Joey · May 13, 2011

No one cares about the little teams...

If there were no Big teams, No sucess ! Serie A Will just vanish !

masterofnaiads · May 13, 2011

Inter threaten transfer boycott

Inter general manager Ernesto Paolillo threatened small clubs over the TV rights split. “If they take our money, we won’t buy their players.”
The situation is tearing Serie A apart, as five clubs (Inter, Milan, Juventus, Napoli and Roma) lost a vote to decide how the pay-per-view television rights would be divided up between the 20 sides.

“This split in the Lega will spread into a transfer market battle, because the big clubs could just decide to trade with each other,” declared Paolillo on Radio Crc.

“We can say that very openly. Transfers are negotiated with clubs you have a good rapport with.

“If on the one hand those 15 clubs take our money away from the five ‘big’ sides, then we won’t buy their players, as that would give them even more funding.”

It is a very complicated affair and at this point the argument is not even over the way money is divided up, but rather the system agencies will use to decide which clubs have the more important fanbase.

“It’s not true that the five big clubs are against these surveys of fans, but rather against the criteria the 15 smaller outfits are forcing on the surveys. It doesn’t fit the reality of the situation,” continued Inter general manager Paolillo.

“Including the viewing figures is totally irrelevant. For example, for Inter-Chievo you get 1m viewers and they are divided equally between the clubs, without taking into account the precise number of fans who tuned in for each side.”

benjamin · May 13, 2011

Ash said:
Doubt it. Remember, Serie A would be non-existet without them...

Who will watch a 5team league? You? Not me for sure.
The idea of going another league is dumb. Who'll allow the big clubs to just join into their top flight? You gotta start from the bottom! Cardiff isn't an English team, they worked their way up. Even if they join another league, they'll probably end up in midtable cause they cant adjust to the style of play.

Look at EPL now. Good revenue from tv, no teams complaining. I guess the big clubs have to sacrifice for the greater good of the league.

Dottore Joey · May 13, 2011

Wait, Wait, Wait does the the Big 5 teams want to change League if they don't win the case? And if yes... What league :S

Christian · May 13, 2011

It's difficult to discuss without the details of the negotiations in my opinion. All I can say though, is that let's just make sure Serie A doesn't end up like La Liga. They renegotiated their tv deal 6-7 seven years ago, and personally I don't find La Liga very exciting anymore, and it's a direct result of that tv deal.

RossoneroTifoso · May 14, 2011

If Italy want's to have success in Europe the FIGC has to rule in favour of the big clubs. What bonus does providing smaller clubs with more revenue add? They can buy some more squad players to ensure they aren't relegated ? :fp:

With more revenue going to the major clubs we will be able to compete financially with the rest of Europes major clubs, it seems an obvious decision :head:

Ash · May 14, 2011

benjamin said:
Who will watch a 5team league? You? Not me for sure.
The idea of going another league is dumb. Who'll allow the big clubs to just join into their top flight? You gotta start from the bottom! Cardiff isn't an English team, they worked their way up. Even if they join another league, they'll probably end up in midtable cause they cant adjust to the style of play.

Look at EPL now. Good revenue from tv, no teams complaining. I guess the big clubs have to sacrifice for the greater good of the league.

They can just make a breakaway league with a couple of feeder teams filling in for the rest of the 15 spots...

:tongue:

Seriously tho, altho many would see the big clubs as money grabbing assholes, I would have to side with them with this one. It's not like they are asking for anything that they dont deserve to, they are asking for what is rightfully theirs. Whether the FIGC likes it or not, the big 5 ARE their moneymakers and unless they want to risk a potential FIFA ban it would be wise for them to come to a compromise sooner rather than later. How the fuck is it gonna help Italy if the big 5 dont have the necessary funds to make it stronger, or help get coefficient points in Europe?

Believe it or not, the big clubs DO HAVE power. Remember the G14? Remember how they almost managed to create a breakaway european super league because they were unhappy with UEFA? Remember how UEFA finally caved in to their demands?

I am not saying it is the similar situation, nor that the Big 5 have the same kind of power. But plain obvious truth is that without the Big 5 Serie A would NEVER survive. Similarly the Big 5 would find it difficult without the Serie A.

It all comes down which side thinks they have the most to lose...

Serie A Giants VS. Serie A Minnows & FIGC

Ash

Swag Maestro

benjamin

Milan Legend

Ash

Swag Maestro

acmilan4ever

Fan of the Sheva's

SouthClaw

Master of Hadou

Dottore Joey

Vice

masterofnaiads

Drummer Extraordinaire

benjamin

Milan Legend

Dottore Joey

Vice

Christian

Milan Legend

RossoneroTifoso

Milan Icon

Ash

Swag Maestro