August 22 – Italian champions Juventus have called on Serie A to schedule more early kick-offs to help grow the club’s brand in Asia – and benefit the rest of the country’s top flight at the same time.
The “big five” European Leagues enjoyed record revenues in the 2017-18 season, earning a combined 15.6 billion euros, but Serie A lags behind the Premier League, Bundesliga and La Liga.
“We have to find the right balance between domestic and global audiences,” Juventus chief revenue officer Giorgio Ricci told the BBC.
“It is not just about the broadcasting times, it is also about the rights distribution and who is showing the games.
“In that sense, the difference between the Premier League and Serie A is huge. This is a very old story and one of the more frequent reasons for fights with the league.”
The new Serie A season kicks off on Saturday but during the opening two weekends of the campaign, no Italian top-flight matches will kick off before 6pm.
Juve say evening kick-offs in Italy reduce the scope to attract viewers in Asia because of the time difference.
The club have just opened a new branch in Hong Kong and see the region as a major source of potential growth.
“By establishing its own base of operations in Hong Kong, the company is expressing its strong desire to move closer to 171 million potential fans, and to lay the fundamentals for long-term planning with structured foundations,” Juventus said in a statement.
“The Hong Kong branch becomes a point of reference to understand more clearly the needs, passions and aspirations of the Juventus fans in Asia-Pacific,” the statement added.
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