Napoli president De Laurentiis dreams of ’16-team Serie A, free-to-air for Italians’ | OneFootball

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has given a lengthy interview to the Corriere della Sera today, in which the businessman called for a return to the days of 16 teams in Serie A, with matches broadcasted for free on Rai and Mediaset.

In the interview, with quotes taken via IlNapolista, De Laurentiis said “I hope for a Serie A slimmed down to 16 teams, like in 1986, to prevent the players themselves, who are the assets of the clubs, from wearing out and losing value,” he continued, “A 16-team league would also avoid those matches watched by only a few thousand spectators on TV, which weaken the commercial credibility of our football.”

Serie A club Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis arrives for the screening of the film “Freaks Out” presented in competition on September 8, 2021 during the 78th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

De Laurentiis acknowledged a common criticism of this suggestion, and replied “Many argue that we would earn less this way but that’s not true, because the value of the other games would increase.”

De Laurentiis wants Serie A shown free-to-air

De Laurentiis also talked about television revenue and changes that could be made to boost the number of Italians who tune in to watch their favourite team: “And the time has come for Giorgia Meloni to remove the advertising cap on Rai, so that Serie A could be financed through ad revenue and broadcast free-to-air, with the league split between Rai and Mediaset. Italians would be thrilled to be able to watch all the matches for free and TV ratings would go through the roof.”

The Napoli president then expanded upon this point, hitting out at the preference that competitions such as the Champions League receive over the domestic league when it comes to the TV networks: “You know very well that the money the networks and platforms allocate to tournaments organised by FIFA and UEFA takes resources away from the national leagues. So there are two solutions: either go free-to-air, giving the clubs the advertising revenue, or bet on fans through pay-per-view, so that beyond selling tickets for the real stadium, you can also sell tickets for the virtual one.”

NAPLES, ITALY – DECEMBER 12: Aurelio De Laurentiis SSC Napoli President during the UEFA Champions League match between SCC Napoli and SC Braga at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 12, 2023 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

However, De Laurentiis acknowledged his dreams for Serie A to be free for Italians to watch was nothing more than a pipe dream: “I don’t have too many illusions that politicians will force Rai or Mediaset to broadcast Serie A. They ignore an important fact: football could bring 30 million fans’ votes to the ballot box. In the end, politicians superficially still see club owners as the ‘rich fools’ Giulio Onesti once talked about.”