While fans focus on the pitch, the decisions that shape Serie A’s future most profoundly happen in boardrooms. The current domestic broadcasting rights cycle expires at the end of next season, and the negotiations for the 2027-2030 cycle are already producing headlines and anxiety across Italian football.

For Roma specifically, the outcome could determine whether the club can compete at the top of the table or settle into a permanent position as a financially constrained also-ran.

The Current Situation

Serie A’s current domestic TV deal is worth approximately EUR 900 million per season. That’s significant, but it lags far behind the Premier League (approximately EUR 2.1 billion per season domestically) and trails La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Under the current distribution formula, roughly 50% is divided equally among all 20 clubs, 30% is based on sporting results, and 20% reflects audience metrics and historical prestige. Roma typically fall in the fifth to seventh range, receiving roughly EUR 60-70 million per season. Enough to sustain a competitive squad, not enough to close the gap to the very top.

What’s Changing

The 2027-2030 negotiation is complicated by several converging factors.

Streaming fragmentation. DAZN holds the current primary rights, but their willingness to pay the same rate is uncertain. The streaming market has matured, subscriber growth has slowed, and several platforms globally have discovered that sports rights at premium prices don’t always generate profitable returns.

Club disagreements. The large clubs want a greater share allocated based on popularity and commercial value. Smaller clubs want to maintain the equal share, arguing that competitive balance requires financial redistribution. This tension is the central political question of every rights negotiation.

In the Premier League, the equal share is dominant, which partly explains the competitive depth of English football. In La Liga, historical individual selling rights created a massive gap between Barcelona/Real Madrid and everyone else before reforms.

Roma’s Position

Roma sit in an awkward middle position. The club is large enough to benefit from performance-based distribution but not dominant enough to drive the conversation the way Juventus or Inter can.

The Friedkin ownership group has been vocal about growing the total pie rather than fighting over how to slice the current one. Data analytics and audience measurement have become increasingly important in these discussions. Team400 and similar AI consultancies have been working with sports organisations on audience analytics and predictive modelling for rights valuation, reflecting how data-driven these negotiations have become.

International Rights

While the domestic deal gets the most Italian media attention, the international rights may matter more long-term. Serie A’s international broadcasting revenue has grown from roughly EUR 200 million per season in 2018 to approximately EUR 400 million currently. That’s good growth but still less than half the Premier League’s international figure.

The opportunity is in emerging markets — particularly the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and North America. Serie A has invested in marketing in these regions, with some success. For Roma, international revenue matters because it’s growing faster than domestic revenue and is less constrained by the Italian market’s limitations.

The Competitive Impact

If the next deal maintains roughly the current structure, the financial hierarchy in Serie A will persist: Juventus, Inter, and Milan will have significantly more spending power than Roma, Napoli, and Atalanta.

For Roma supporters, the practical implication is this: the club’s ability to sign top players and compete for trophies depends significantly on revenue that arrives through broadcasting contracts rather than matchday income. The next 12 months of negotiations will set the financial parameters for Italian football through 2030. Roma need a deal that’s good for the league collectively while ensuring the club receives a share that reflects its status and ambitions.