Inside Serie A's TV Money: Why Inter Earns €82m While Venezia Gets €26m

A comprehensive breakdown of Italian football's broadcasting revenue and how it shapes the competitive landscape

When Inter Milan lifted the Scudetto last season, they didn't just secure sporting glory. They also locked in approximately €82 million from Serie A's television rights distribution, more than three times what bottom-placed Venezia collected. But unlike in some European leagues, this gap isn't simply about winning. It's the product of a complex formula that rewards history, fanbase size, and consistent performance over years—not just one season's triumph.

Understanding how Serie A distributes its broadcasting revenue reveals much about Italian football's financial landscape and why the league continues to struggle to compete with the Premier League's economic might.

The Numbers Game

Serie A's current domestic broadcasting deal with DAZN and Sky Italia, running from 2024 to 2029, is worth €4.5 billion over five seasons—€900 million annually. This represents a slight decrease from the previous cycle, which generated approximately €927 million per year, making Serie A one of the few major European leagues to see its domestic rights value decline in recent times.

When international broadcasting rights are added, the picture improves somewhat. Foreign rights contribute approximately €240 million annually under current arrangements, though Serie A's ambitions are considerably higher. League officials have targeted international revenue of €1.1 billion for the 2024-2027 cycle, which would represent a significant leap from the €670 million secured for 2021-2024.

In total, Serie A clubs generated approximately €1.48 billion in broadcasting revenue for the 2023-24 season across all sources. For context, that's less than half what the Premier League distributes domestically alone.

How the Money Gets Split

The distribution formula, governed by the revised Melandri Law, is designed to balance competitive fairness with rewarding success and popularity. Unlike the Premier League's heavily merit-based system, Serie A takes a more equitable approach:

Equal Share (50%): Half of the domestic television revenue is divided equally among all 20 Serie A clubs, regardless of where they finish. This provides smaller clubs with a guaranteed baseline, ensuring that even newly promoted sides receive substantial broadcasting income. For the current cycle, this translates to roughly €22.5 million per club annually from the equal share alone.

Sporting Merit (28%): This component rewards performance, but not in the straightforward way you might expect. It's broken down into multiple subcategories: 11.2% based on the most recent league position, 2.8% on points earned in the current season, 9.33% on performance over the previous five seasons, and 4.67% on historical results dating back decades. This multi-year approach means a single poor season doesn't devastate a historically successful club's income, while one good season doesn't create a windfall for smaller sides.

Social Rooting (22%): This is where the big clubs really pull away. Calculated using television audience data, stadium attendance figures, and even minutes played by young Italian players, this component heavily favors teams with massive national followings. Juventus, Inter, and Milan dominate here regardless of their current form, as their fanbases dwarf those of provincial clubs.

The Real-World Impact

The 2024-25 distribution illustrates how these principles play out. Inter tops the table with €81.9 million, benefiting from their championship win, historical prestige, and enormous fanbase. But notice how closely grouped the traditional giants are: Napoli earned €67.8 million, Juventus €67.7 million, and Milan €67.3 million—despite vastly different recent performances.

Roma, with their massive Roman fanbase, collected €61.2 million despite a middling season. Lazio's €55.6 million and Atalanta's €53.7 million reflect their consistent high-table finishes but smaller supporter bases.

At the other end, newly promoted clubs and those with smaller followings cluster around €25-35 million. Venezia received €25.5 million, Monza €25.6 million, and Empoli €27.3 million. Lecce, despite being a smaller club, earned €32.2 million—likely boosted by their several seasons of Serie A experience contributing to the historical component.

The gap between top and bottom—roughly 3.2:1—is considerably narrower than in Spain's La Liga (where Barcelona and Real Madrid long dominated revenue distribution) but wider than the Premier League's more equitable 1.6:1 ratio.

Club-by-Club Breakdown: 2024-25 TV Revenue

Here's how Serie A's 20 clubs ranked in television rights revenue for the 2024-25 season, based on reporting from Italian media sources:

Key Observations:

The distribution reveals several telling patterns. The traditional "Big Seven" (Inter, Juventus, Milan, Roma, Napoli, Lazio, and Fiorentina) dominate the upper reaches, with only Atalanta—Serie A's overachieving upstart—breaking into the top tier despite their smaller fanbase. Their €53.7 million reflects consistent Champions League qualification and strong recent finishes, demonstrating how sustained sporting success can elevate a mid-sized club's earnings.

Bologna's €43.7 million is notable given their qualification for the Champions League last season, though their relatively modest fanbase prevents them from climbing higher. Similarly, Torino's €38.6 million reflects their status as a historic club with reasonable support, even when languishing mid-table.

Among the promoted clubs, Como's €32.1 million is particularly interesting—the Lake Como side's financial backing and media appeal may have contributed to stronger audience metrics. Parma and Venezia, the other promoted sides, predictably sit near the bottom, though Parma's €29.4 million benefits slightly from their storied history and periods of Serie A participation in previous decades.

The relatively narrow range—from Inter's €81.9 million to Venezia's €25.5 million—means that even bottom-placed clubs receive meaningful television revenue. However, it also means that winning Serie A provides less financial advantage than in leagues with more merit-based distributions, limiting champions' ability to reinvest dramatically in squad improvement.

Where Else Does the Money Go?

Not all broadcasting revenue reaches Serie A clubs directly. A portion is redirected to support Italian football's broader ecosystem:

Lower League Solidarity: Approximately 10% of revenue flows to Serie B, Serie C, and grassroots football. For the 2023-24 season, this amounted to roughly €130 million, with about €75 million going to Serie B clubs. This solidarity payment is crucial for maintaining competitive balance throughout Italian football's pyramid.

Parachute Payments: Clubs relegated from Serie A receive financial cushioning to ease their transition to Serie B. Unlike the Premier League's percentage-based system tied to broadcasting revenue, Serie A operates on a fixed-payment model. Relegated teams can split up to €60 million total, distributed in three tiers: clubs that spent just one season in Serie A receive €10 million, those with two consecutive seasons get €15 million, and clubs with three or more seasons receive €25 million. Last season, Sassuolo and Salernitana each pocketed €25 million, while Frosinone received €10 million.

Administrative Costs: A small portion covers regulatory requirements, including contributions to AGCOM (Italy's media regulator) at approximately 0.05% of total revenue, plus league operational expenses for negotiating rights, marketing, and administration.

The Competitive Implications

This distribution model creates a financial ecosystem distinctly different from other major leagues. The generous equal share and historical weighting mean that Italy's traditional giants maintain significant revenue advantages even during lean periods. Inter can endure a few poor seasons without catastrophic financial consequences. Conversely, a smaller club that punches above its weight for a season or two won't suddenly find itself flush with transformative revenue.

This partly explains why Serie A's hierarchy remains relatively stable compared to the Premier League, where Leicester City's title win was followed by significant financial rewards that helped sustain their competitiveness. In Italy, such a Cinderella story would generate far less financial momentum.

The model also helps explain why Italian clubs often struggle in the transfer market against Premier League rivals. Even bottom-tier Premier League clubs receive substantially more broadcasting revenue than most Serie A sides. Sheffield United, finishing last in the Premier League in 2023-24, collected approximately €106 million—more than Inter received for winning Serie A.

Looking Ahead

Serie A faces significant challenges in closing the revenue gap with Europe's wealthier leagues. The domestic market is mature, piracy remains rampant, and international appeal lags behind the Premier League and increasingly behind La Liga. The league's shift from three-year to five-year domestic rights cycles provides stability but locks in potentially below-market rates for longer periods.

Recent regulatory changes removing the "no single buyer" rule could reshape future negotiations, potentially allowing one broadcaster to acquire all domestic rights. Additionally, proposed legislation would mandate that more than 50% of broadcasting income be split equally—a move toward greater parity but one that would further limit top clubs' ability to compete financially with European rivals.

The international rights picture offers more hope. Serie A has moved away from bundled global deals with agencies like Infront, instead negotiating market-by-market to maximize value. CBS's renewal in the United States, while at fees below Serie A's ambitions, maintains crucial North American visibility. The league's establishment of offices in New York, London, and Abu Dhabi signals serious intent to grow overseas revenue.

Yet the fundamental tension remains: Serie A's more equitable distribution model promotes domestic competitive balance but limits its biggest clubs' financial firepower on the continental stage. As the Premier League's wealth continues to grow and Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate La Liga's international brand, Italian football must decide whether to maintain its solidarity-focused approach or shift toward a more winner-takes-all system.

For now, the formula ensures that all 20 Serie A clubs share in the league's broadcasting success—but it's a pie that remains stubbornly smaller than those enjoyed by rivals in England and Spain. Until that changes, even Inter's €82 million windfall will look modest by European standards.

Revenue figures are estimates based on reporting from Italian media including Panorama, Gazzetta dello Sport, and academic sources including Bocconi Students for Sport Management. Actual distributions may vary based on final calculations of audience metrics and performance bonuses.