Serie A gets serious about the United States. Can Pulisic and Co. break through?

After a quick aperitif, nearly 30,000 fans will file through the gates of the Stadio Ennio Tardini, with the sounds of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida undoubtedly echoing across the ancient stadium, as they take their seats for newly promoted Parma’s match against AC Milan on Saturday.

In the United States, the action could theoretically reach 125 million people, as it will be the first Serie A match to be broadcast on national television. The competition kicks off at 12:30 p.m. ET on CBS and hopes to break the previous record audience for a broadcast in that market, which currently stands at just 225,000 viewers.

If the match between the two American clubs goes well – let’s say USMNT star Christian Pulisic scores a backheel like Jeremy Menez did in a stunning thrilling nine-goal thriller in this 2015 match — there’s room for more. Four was talked about when CBS Sports and Serie A agreed to a new two-year deal in July.

🗣️ FOR THE FIRST TIME, A SERIES A MATCH WILL BE BROADCAST ON CBS 🚨

The crew will be LIVE on site for Parma vs. Milan on August 24th 🇮🇹 photo.twitter.com/2N0TJuWaDP

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 14, 2024

The competition has previously switched between networks, with fans having to choose between Rai International, Dish Network, TNT, BeIN and ESPN. An extension with the same partner ensures continuity and builds on a relationship that began in 2021 when Serie A finally and belatedly started to get serious about breaking into the US. Along with the Middle East and North Africa, the market was identified as key to Serie A’s growth. An office was opened in New York and the relationship between the league and the broadcaster was direct rather than through an intermediary, ensuring privileged access.

The hope was to attract 15 million Italian-Americans to Serie A at a time when the league itself was becoming increasingly American-influenced. This season, nine of the league’s 20 teams are North American-owned. They include four of Serie A’s five representatives in the revamped Champions League.

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In theory, this summer would have been a good time for the league’s rights to pop up, not just in the U.S. but in almost every global market except the Middle East and North Africa. Serie A has enjoyed a mini infrastructure-defying renaissance of late, with its teams reaching eight UEFA finals since 2020. In an era where only Manchester City has won the Premier League, Serie A has had four different champions in five seasons.

Inter Milan, Napoli, AC Milan and Juventus have all won Serie A in the past five seasons (Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

No wonder the league’s CEO, Luigi De Siervo, has set a goal of increasing total international TV rights revenues from €250 million to €400 million with conviction. For too long, it has been one of the biggest gaps between the league and its rivals. By comparison, the Premier League earns around €400 million a year from its US deal alone. Reaching La Liga has become a bigger priority. A change in the Italian law has also allowed Serie A to sign TV deals with foreign broadcasters for up to five years, giving partners in other countries time to invest in developing audiences. But the new agreement with CBS is shorter and for less money than the last tender.

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On the one hand, the new two-year deal could be seen as strategic. The rights will come up again in the year of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada, when the American market should be more football-crazy than ever. A better auction could be held, since other deals like ESPN’s with the Bundesliga are expiring at the same time.

On the other hand, the new CBS deal is a reflection of the current environment. The expanded Champions League is a problem for Serie A (and other leagues) in that more matches allow UEFA to charge broadcasters a higher price. This has eroded the budgets of TV networks and reduced the spending power of other leagues.

Then there’s the Tolkien-esque one-ring-to-rule-them-all nature of the American landscape. Every sport has one top league: the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL. There can only be one, and if it’s not the MLS, which can at least boast a bigger star than any in Serie A in Lionel Messi, then it’s the Premier League, which has also achieved that rare crossover into popular culture thanks to Ted Lasso. Even Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s investment in lower-league Wrexham, and the accompanying documentary, has cemented the primacy of English football.

AC Milan fans in Baltimore, Maryland, this August (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

This summer, Manchester United played Liverpool and Arsenal in the US. Chelsea also played Manchester City. There was a Clasico at MetLife Stadium. The only Italian team in the US was AC Milan. The rest stayed in Europe. Juventus spent pre-season at Adidas headquarters in Germany and played a friendly in Sweden. Napoli trained in the Dolomites and Castel di Sangro. The furthest champions Inter Milan traveled was London after a change of ownership halted a proposed tour of China.

Exposure in the US has been minimal or focused on Milan, and it remains to be seen whether De Siervo will reconsider plans for a mini Serie A tournament as he unsuccessfully proposed during the World Cup in Qatar. A Summer Series like the one the Premier League staged in 2023 with Chelsea, Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle and Brighton would undoubtedly be welcomed.

But back to television.

Owners such as Atalanta’s majority shareholder Steve Pagliuca remain optimistic about the long term. “What’s happening now,” he says, “is the streaming wars were very profitable and maybe drove up values ​​as people tried to capture viewers. Various streaming companies paid a lot of money for these rights and now they’re cutting back. If you look at it long term, I predict that when the streaming wars are over, technology will increase the amount of money that goes through television, the number of viewers, the number of fans, which will increase revenue for all those teams.”

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In the meantime, it’s a matter of sitting it out and being creative. “I think the league is becoming more and more sophisticated,” Pagliuca adds. In the UK and Ireland, where current rights holder TNT Sports reduced the number of channels and Serie A could not guarantee the same distribution and exposure, the league is testing a new model with OneFootball as its provider for a direct-to-consumer offer, with Serie A deciding on the packaging and price. The first three weeks of play will be free-to-air, with the exception of the two that will be retained in co-exclusivity with TNT.

From 2023: The Paramount+ team at Napoli v AC Milan (Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/LightRocket via Getty Images)

In high-density, low- to middle-income markets like India, content is free on Galaxy Racer, with gamification to boost engagement. In the U.S., 424 matches across Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana return to Paramount+ with a reach of tens of millions. Spanish-language rights, snapped up in the previous cycle, are now on Fox Deportes with a reach of 12 million, and radio station Sirius XM will have at least one match per matchday with a reach of 33 million.

Whether Serie A can truly break through remains to be seen. Perhaps it would have been better, for example, to choose a match at the league’s most iconic stadium, San Siro, for its debut on national American TV.

But all in all, staging will be a secondary concern as long as it’s a great match and a compelling advert for Serie A. It’s up to you, Pulisic and co.

(Top photo: Getty Images)