The stadium turnout has always been a very tricky topic. In recent weeks, when talking about the reallocation of the 2018-2021 TV rights, a different idea was brought up. We are talking about the so called “protected zone” which means no games on TV at 3pm on Sunday. The main objective of this idea is to bring back as many supporters to the stadiums as possible.
In light of that said above, Calcio e Finanza investigated what the schedules that have attracted on average more public are. The outcome was very surprising.
The 3pm shift on Sunday is the least successful one. The average viewer is slightly greater than that of the midday matches, but the turnout in the stadiums is much lower. The fact that the games played at lunch time are more successful than those played at 5pm should let us think about how football is changing and also highlight the new habits of Italians.
However, we must always remember that the decision to play games at 12 and 6 pm was taken because strategically those hours are very appealing also for the Asian markets.
In conclusion, we can definitely say that if the changes to the schedules are wisely planned they can enhance the football product for the international market but also satisfy those local supporters that are then willing to go to the stadium.
