JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, is eyeing the Italian professional football Serie A (first division).
Reuters reported on the 27th (local time), citing three sources, that JPMorgan Chase has expressed interest in Serie A’s media business.
Sources said that JP Morgan Chase is expected to invest 700 million to 1 billion euros (approximately 940.5 billion to 1.3435 trillion won) in Serie A.
Previously, JP Morgan Chase promoted the establishment of the European Super League (ESL) in 2021, but it was canceled due to strong opposition.
The ESL was a plan to open a top-level competition replacing the Champions League (UCL) of the European Football Federation (UEFA) with 12 top clubs in England, Italy and Spain.
However, criticism was poured out that it was a plan to maximize the profits of prestigious clubs while alienating other clubs that could not participate in national leagues and ESL.
European fans as well as politicians strongly protested, and in the end, JPMorgan Chase, the ‘waterlord’, issued an apology and gave up.
Serie A’s contract for broadcasting rights with DAZN, a global sports streaming service, ends at the end of the 2023-2024 season. The 20 teams in Serie A depend on broadcasting fees for about half of their club’s income.
The most important source of income for the world’s leading soccer clubs is TV broadcasting fees.
The English Premier League (EPL) is showing off its unrivaled status by attracting top-notch players and prospects based on huge broadcasting revenue.
Compared to the Premier League, Serie A, which has significantly less revenue from broadcasting fees, wants broadcast rights contracts three times more than before to revive the league.
In this situation, JP Morgan Chase, the ‘big hand’, showed interest in the media business, including Serie A broadcasting rights.
In 2021, CVC Capital Partners, a British private equity fund, offered 1.7 billion euros as a condition to acquire a 10% stake in the Serie A media business, but the contract was canceled due to strong opposition from some clubs such as Napoli and Lazio. 바카라사이트
The bidding for the selection of Serie A broadcasting rights operators is expected to begin at the end of this year after discussions between the clubs in mid-February.