If until last year the weekend could be said to be the only weekly moment of maximum expression of man's freedom to give up any subversive plan of friends and girlfriends to embrace the sofa, beer and the remote control and follow the matches of the Italian Serie A championship plans could be revised downwards this year. Simply due to the fact that compared to the previous one, the 2018/2019 championship promises to be richer. Of matches? No, the days remain 38, but follow them for fans who don't want to give up on Sky and DAZN broadcasts it will cost 95,8% more on 2017/2018. The surveys were conducted by SosTariffe.it, an independent and free portal that allows you to compare prices and offers, at the end of August 2018 on the basis of data obtained from the web portals of the providers taken into consideration. The average fees traced were calculated on the promotional prices reserved for new customers and referred to one or more subscriptions needed to watch sporting events.
The increases depend on the division of the football offer between Rupert Murdoch's broadcaster and the new on-demand TV of the Perform group, which shared the television rights of Italian football. During the previous 2017/18 season, however, the matches were broadcast only by Sky, with some matches also broadcast on Mediaset Premium digital terrestrial.
A fan who wants to watch the sun Serie A matches this year he will have to spend at least €42,89, while during the 2017/2018 season he would have gotten away with €21,90: about 95,84% more. The exact same prices for those who choose to follow Serie A and B together, perhaps evaluating an evening out for two or with friends can once again be considered.
But if someone is a die-hard fan of the Serie B, then they will be able to rest assured and keep their place on the sofa: while last year they would have had to put their hands on their wallets by consuming 21,90 euros, this year they will manage not to miss a single goal with just 9,99 euros (DAZN season ticket), saving about 54,38% of the cost.
La Champions League the certainty of the season remains, above all because now that Cristiano Ronaldo is at Juventus all eyes are on the Juventus Stadium and everyone is asking themselves "Will Juventus be able to lift that Cup this year?". For posterity the sentence, in the meantime it is enough to know that the cost remains the same as last year, i.e. 19,90 euros per month.
Anyone who wants to put everything from the Champions League to Serie A to Serie B in the cauldron and not be moved from the sofa will pay 43 euros instead of 32, with an estimated difference of 2,61% on last year. The problem isn't even so much choosing the best package, but the fact that the division of TV rights to matches obliges fans to subscribe to two season tickets: each day of the Serie A championship will in fact be divided, with 7 matches broadcast on Rupert's pay TV Murdoch and 3 on Perform Group's new streaming platform.
The subscription to follow 70% of matches on Sky digital terrestrial, including the Champions League, costs 15 euros for the football package plus 19,90 euros per month for the Sky TV + Sport offer, the latter in promotion for the first six months, but after that it will rise to 29.90 euros. Those who want to subscribe to a new Sky subscription using the satellite platform, therefore with the installation of the satellite dish, or using the internet connection via a fiber optic network, will have to pay 29,90 euros per month.
Similar figure for those who want to try to watch the games on Now TV, the Sky internet TV platform that allows you to follow matches in live streaming and on-demand mode. And to follow Serie B instead? DAZN Italia, the new internet TV dedicated to sport also launched in Italy in August 2018 by the English group Perform, offers for those who have already been Sky customers for more than a year, a subscription for 7,99 euros per month, which will allow them to follow the 30% of Serie A matches and Serie B matches.
There is also no shortage of controversies of a different order than the mere increase in prices: the new structure of football on TV, in the aftermath of the launch, is already at the center of the storm with angry spectators who accuse DAZN of poor streaming quality, videos that skip and slow loading. But the TV of the Perform group communicated with a recent note that it is making improvements to the service. The Antitrust has also intervened in the matter since it has launched two investigations against Sky and Perform for "alleged unfair commercial practices and possible violations of consumer rights". The Guarantor for competition and the market accuses Sky of having induced consumers to make poorly aware commercial decisions, by not properly informing them about the limits of the offer divided by time slots. DAZN, on the other hand, would have omitted to report on the 'technical limitations' that could hinder the easy use of the service and would have kept silent about the automatic renewal after the first free month of viewing. But the English on-demand streaming platform immediately showed itself willing to provide clarifications in this regard.
That apart from the Champions League, Serie B won't make a comeback this year?
