The football season has not yet ended, with the 2024 European Championships in Germany still underway, but it is time to look ahead because the 2024/25 season which will start in August promises to be full of surprises.
There is the new Champions Leaguewith a spectacular format that will see five Italian teams participate for the first time, but also an equally spectacular Serie A: the Italian Champions Inter will have to face the new Juventus of Thiago Motta, the Milan of Paulo Fonseca and the aggressive Napoli of Antonio Conte.
In the background, there are also big news for international football: in the Premier League both Liverpool and Chelsea have changed managers, in Spain Real Madrid has confirmed (obviously) Carlo Ancelotti, while Barcelona has relied on Flick and in Germany Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen will have to defend the title against Bayern Munich by Kompany. The ingredients for a season not to be missed are all there, but how to navigate between the various broadcasters? We’re here, with our usual annual guide to football on TV.
Serie A, Serie B, Serie C, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana
Let’s obviously start from the A league. As is known, Sky and DAZN retained the TV rights to Serie A until 2029 at the end of an auction that seemed interminable and which did not seem to have a solution.
The two broadcasters, fundamentally, confirmed the structure that we have had the opportunity to enjoy in the last three years, with the difference, however, that thanks to a modification to the Melandri Law the period has been extended to five years compared to the previous three. In this way, according to the Lega Calcio, it has been possible to attract more investments which will also translate into a general improvement in the offer.
Thanks to its offer of 700 million Euros, DAZN will broadcast all 380 matches of Serie A: out of 10 per matchday, seven will be exclusive. Sky for its part will broadcast three evening events of Italian football co-exclusively on satellite: the one on Saturday at 8.45pm, the one on Sunday at 6pm and the postponed one on Monday at 8.45pm. There Pay TV will broadcast all 114 matches in 4K tooand on the platform it will also be possible to view the highlights of all 380 matches.
Moving on to the Serie Bthe cadet championship has assigned the rights until 2024 without any exclusivity, and the matches can be followed on Sky Sport and DAZN. The situation is different for Serie C, which, pending the tender scheduled for spring 2025, will be visible on Sky with 1143 matches in national exclusivity and 48 in co-exclusive per season: the pay TV list includes the Regular Season, Playoffs, the Coppa Italia (from the round of 16) and the Super Cup.
The Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup will continue to be broadcast free-to-air until 2026/27 on Mediaset channels: the Biscione will divide the matches between Canale 5 and Italia 1, as happened in past seasons.
Champions, Europa e Conference League
Moving on to the television rights of the new Champions League, Sky announced last year that it had acquired the television rights to broadcast the Champions League on all platforms (including in streaming, unlike what happened previously due to the Antitrust stop), Europa League and Conference League.
From the 2024/25 to 2026/27 season, Sky will broadcast 185 out of 203 Champions League matches per season, including playoffs, 189 Europa League matches and 153 Conference League matches. Comcast’s pay TV also secured the television rights to the three finals, the UEFA Europe Super Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
Amazon Prime Video has also confirmed its current broadcasting plan: Amazon Prime subscribers will be able to follow the best match of Wednesday in streaming for free and exclusively. The Seattle giant has already specified that it will give absolute priority to the best match featuring Italian teams, which will be five: Inter, Milan, Juventus, Atalanta and Bologna.
Particularly thorny is the issue relating to the broadcast of European Cup matches free-to-air. In fact, Sky has decided to strengthen its position and in order to maximize profits by virtue of the important investment, has excluded any type of possibility of sharing matches with other broadcasters. This means that no Champions League, Europa and Conference League matches featuring Italian teams will be visible free-to-air, not even on TV8. Sky has specified that it will broadcast one Champions League match free-to-air for each round, but choosing the best among those featuring foreign teams.
Foreign football
And for every football fan, the weekly appointment with the great international football cannot be missed: the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga and the German Bundesliga are unmissable, as they offer some of the most spectacular clashes. Just think of the Premier League, the most beautiful championship in the world, but also of the Spanish La Liga that is enriched with Mbappè at Real Madrid, or the Bundesliga that will see the birth of the new Bayern Munich of Kompany, without forgetting the French Ligue 1 where PSG is ready to do battle.
Starting from Her Majesty’s FootballAs is known, Sky has renewed the TV rights for the Premier League which will be offered until the 2027/2028 season. Pay TV, specifically, will broadcast up to ten live matches for each round: starting from Friday Night and concluding with Monday Night, without forgetting the matches on Saturday and Sunday afternoon. Added to this will be pre- and post-match studies with talent and a series of columns such as Premier League Remix and Premier League Stories.
As for the Spanish Leaguewhich will see Carlo Ancelotti’s European Champion Real Madrid defend the title against Flick’s new Barcelona, DAZN as is known has an agreement for the broadcast of all matches in Italy until 2029. The platform, which also broadcasts Serie A, with the same subscription gives subscribers the possibility of access to viewing all 380 matches in addition to highlights, but also extra content and insights both live and in on-demand format.
The 23rd of August 2024 will also see the start of the Bundesliga, the top German league which is permanently among the top 5 in Europe and which last season brought two teams to the final of European competitions: Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid in the Champions League, and Bayer Leverkusen (which also won the national title) against Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta. The last day is scheduled for May 17, 2025 and the season that is about to begin promises to be spectacular not only because Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have changed coaches, but also because Bayer Leverkusen has kept Xabi Alonso at the helm and is ready to extend his unbeaten run in Germany.
German football fans will be able to follow the best matches of the 2024/25 Bundesliga on Sky by subscribing to the Sky Calcio package. The reference channel is 202, Sky Sport Calcio, which those who follow football will know very well.
