«We the Italian Manchester United? Perhaps they are the English Juventus». From the heart of the Allianz Stadium, specifically from the Giovanni and Umberto Agnelli Room overlooking the VIP stand, Francesco Calvo, Managing Director of Revenue & Football Development for Juventus, spoke exclusively to Calcio e Finanza, revealing in detail the plans and strategies of the Bianconeri club.
The stage was the Juventus Business Forum, an event on March 20 that saw over 200 partners and subscribers of the Juventus Premium Club among the thousands of companies associated with the club. Over 400 professionals were present, along with over a thousand one-to-one meetings, in a day of discussion and networking among some of the main Juventus stakeholders.
While Juventus CEO Maurizio Scanavino welcomed guests in the morning, Calvo, who operates in a management position under Scanavino, kicked off the afternoon session with this interview with Calcio e Finanza. During the extensive conversation, Calvo, who returned to Juventus in 2022 after a previous tenure that ended in 2015, discussed various aspects of Juventus’ commercial policy, ranging from Artificial Intelligence to football-related topics. He also addressed strategic issues for the Bianconeri, including qualification for the new Club World Cup, the search for a new shirt sponsor, and challenges within Serie A compared to other European leagues.
Dr. Calvo, starting with the freshest topic, namely qualification for the Club World Cup. What potential does this new tournament, which will be played in the United States in 2025, hold?
«For us, it’s a tremendous opportunity. Qualifying was extremely important for Juventus’ future, not only in terms of economic sustainability but also for the commercial strength and appeal our club will have internationally. That said, there’s an element of curiosity to understand how this World Cup will be in its inaugural edition, with 32 clubs playing for a month in the USA. We don’t yet know what the tournament’s impact will be, considering it will take place at a particular time of the season, between mid-June and mid-July. It will be very interesting».
Is there an advantage in playing in the United States?
«The fact of being in the USA is significantly interesting. The North American market is growing, albeit not at the level of other traditional American sports, as football in the USA remains marginal compared to other sports. However, first, there will be the Club World Cup in 2025, and then the World Cup in 2026, so we hope that with the growth of MLS in recent years and the arrival of Messi, football can truly break through there».
In the USA, there is immense commercial potential. From this perspective, are there opportunities?
«Undoubtedly. However, it’s important to emphasize that when going abroad, continuity is crucial. Unlike their domestic sports, football isn’t part of the daily lives of American citizens and companies, which penalizes us. Nevertheless, with events like the Club World Cup, summer tours, and the World Cup, football can certainly make an impact».
Speaking of commercial aspects, what is the current state of affairs regarding the search for a new shirt sponsor for the upcoming season?
«We are working on it. It’s an important challenge for us because it has been many years since we went to the market to find a shirt sponsor. (Since the 2012/13 season, the brand on the shirt has always been Jeep, a brand of the automotive giant Stellantis, whose primary shareholder is Exor, which also controls Juventus). Additionally, we are coming from complicated years concerning the image of the Juventus brand. It’s a fact. Then, there’s a more general consideration: due to the prestige of our crest, finding the right partner is difficult. However, the greatness of our brand is also defined by how many ‘no’s’ we can say since we are not a brand for everyone. At this moment, it’s very difficult to say no, but we are still in the phase where we are saying no to many in the search for the right partner».
FROM TURIN TO HONG KONG, THE JUVENTUS BRAND AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION
International expansion remains a fundamental element, as evidenced by the numbers from your office in Hong Kong.
«It’s certainly an important issue. Football is a global sport, and we must be able to capture a worldwide audience. We have an office in Hong Kong with seven people. Unfortunately, it was established at the wrong time, in September 2019, just before the street protests erupted in Hong Kong, followed by the onset of the Covid pandemic, and finally, the issues related to Juventus over the past two years. However, from a commercial standpoint, it provides a significant boost to revenues, generating around 7 million with an expenditure of one million. Especially in a world that would be difficult for us to reach from Turin».
How much does not having the country’s economic capital, Milan, behind you impact your operations?
«From a purely commercial perspective, Milan offers greater opportunities than Turin. Our commercial team is permanently based in the Lombard capital, which is ultimately Italy’s economic center. I was speaking with colleagues from Ferrari: Maranello is a small town in the province of Modena, and visiting it is an incredible experience, but even they have opened an office in Milan, which makes commercial sense, even just for convenience. Although we are close geographically, we face this problem. Sometimes, I dream of being in Milan as a company, but there are already two teams there, and there wouldn’t be space for us. That said, we are proud to represent Turin globally, a city to which we are historically very attached, and which our fans, both Italian and international, consider home. It’s a city to which Juventus brings value in terms of visibility and economically, given the impact that each Juventus match has on the area».
Is being listed on the stock exchange more of an advantage or a disadvantage?
«In terms of commercial activity, it’s absolutely indifferent. The challenges I see are that we all work harder due to the obligations of being listed, and I’m speaking generally about the company. That’s a negative aspect. Furthermore, being listed imposes transparency obligations on us towards the market, so while I might struggle to gather information and data related to agreements made by other companies, we have to provide public visibility for any agreement of a certain size. This is never pleasant. It gives the impression of being the Italian Manchester United, understood as a company? Perhaps they could be considered the English Juventus, which I prefer (laughs)».
Speaking of advantages?
«On the other hand, being listed on the stock exchange imposes discipline across all divisions of the company and an obligation to professionalize. But I can’t say whether this is linked to the stock exchange or, given the club’s ownership, to the managerial culture of Exor (the Agnelli-Elkann dynasty). Juventus has been managed like a company even before being listed. So, I believe it’s a mix of both, on one hand, the obligations, and on the other hand, the DNA of Juventus and the family behind us».
THE WEIGHT OF THE BRAND AND THE SEARCH FOR NEW REVENUE STREAMS
Juventus is both loved and hated. Is it a problem when it comes to attracting sponsors?
«As divisive as football can be, the Juventus name represents much more of an advantage than a disadvantage. We don’t see major issues or companies fearing to associate with Juventus due to potential consequences from other fans. On the contrary, they focus much more on our huge number of supporters. Abroad, there isn’t even the hypothetical negative aspect related to Italian rivalries because Juventus has a very significant history and present that puts us on par with the big European clubs».
What channels is Juventus focusing on to increase revenues?
«All of them (laughs). The pressure we put on increasing revenues across any business is considerable because on the path to sustainability, we must rationalize costs but also increase revenues. Digital is our major challenge, particularly content exploitation. We’ve established our own media house, the Juventus Creator Lab, which operates 20 hours a day on content creation, posting around 1,500 pieces per week. It’s a fascinating subject; we’re investing a lot, and the challenge is to understand how to monetize it. In this regard, we have the advantage of being close to the Gedi group (a media company controlled by Exor, like Juventus, and sharing the same CEO, Scanavino). We’re working with them to understand how to be first and be leaders».
Juventus is among the top clubs in the world on TikTok, a platform popular among younger demographics. Is that where the focus should be?
«Definitely, it’s an area with growth opportunities. In platforms related to youth, we’re the fourth/fifth football club globally and the top Italian brand in digital overall and on TikTok, where we’re among the top ten for football clubs».
In the digital realm, I imagine the challenge is how to monetize content.
«Currently, monetization is almost zero, but the first club to achieve it will gain a significant advantage. It’s obvious to say but not easy to do. It will be important to monetize our content without any intermediaries, as is mostly the case today through broadcasters. Traditional television is struggling today, which is why various platforms like Dazn have emerged. But the role clubs will play in this system is hard to predict. As Serie A League, we’ve considered this for a long time; the question was whether to accept offers from DAZN and Sky or to do something independently and become the first league in the world. Fortunately, we reconsidered before the final stretch and didn’t invent anything new because I don’t think we were ready».
THE SERIE A AND THE GAP WITH THE OTHER TOP EUROPEAN LEAGUES
On the topic of the Serie A League. Is there a perception of lesser efficiency in the Italian league compared to European competitors: is it true?
«What penalizes us compared to our European competitors is the structure we have at the base because Serie A today is not as developed a system as the English Premier League and the Spanish La Liga. It doesn’t have the same global television coverage. Particularly, today, the difference between Serie A and the Premier League is strongly felt, not so much with La Liga. Also, because Serie A has an advantage in terms of history and brand value of Italy as well as football teams».
Milan’s owner Gerald “Gerry” Cardinale, in his interview with Calcio e Finanza, explained how difficult it is to do business in the Italian market if Serie A fails to develop its potential, considering that the last in the Premier League earns 40% more from TV rights than the first in Serie A. Is this also a concern for Juventus?
«This is the real challenge and also the problem that we live and see daily. We analyzed the TV rights revenue data before and after the introduction of the Melandri Law: in 2009, Atletico Madrid earned 50 million while Juventus received 110 million because they sold TV rights directly. Today, however, Atletico Madrid earns 130 million and Juventus perhaps reaches 85 million. This is clearly a significant competitive disadvantage we have compared to the big three Spanish clubs or all English teams».
Is this something that also reflects on the transfer market?
«Correct. Just think that in 2013, Juventus sold Ogbonna to West Ham, and many of us were surprised that West Ham could afford to sign a player who was an Italian national and played for Juventus. Back then, it was an alarm signal, and today, it’s the norm. Today, our players can go to either the big European clubs or the lower-mid English clubs that have more resources than us. It’s scary to think that the last English team earns more than the first Italian team. We always talk about the top five leagues in Europe, but in reality, there’s England, then Spain, and then there are three: Italy, France, and Germany».
How can this systemic problem be solved?
«This is a problem that has its roots many years ago. Firstly, Italy’s GDP hasn’t grown for 20 years unlike other European countries, and we’ve never invested in stadiums except for us, Udinese, and Atalanta. On the other hand, we’ve seen the problems in any Italian city when it comes to new stadiums. That said, there’s a fundamental aspect: if the country doesn’t grow, if bureaucracy obstructs you, and then if you have a Serie A system that isn’t yet at the level of the best European league, it becomes very difficult to grow. This is the real limit we feel today, even if we do everything perfectly, and we have to do everything perfectly because we’re not yet in that situation, we know that we have a physiological growth limit».
Also, because getting 20 heads in the League to agree is never easy, I imagine. And returning to the comparison with other leagues, in La Liga, which you know well from your experience at Barcelona, the president has much more power than the CEO of Serie A.
«In La Liga, the president has all the power. It’s a situation similar to what we had in Italy in the 1990s and early 2000s when Serie A and Serie B were together in a single league. In that context, football maybe worked better, it was a different, smaller business, but decisions were made. That said, Serie A, although sometimes we’re very good at showing the worst face of Italian football to the outside world, the movement is developing and investing to grow, but it takes time to see the results».
How is Serie A aiming to grow?
«In the last five years, Serie A has started a process of professionalization, created professional departments (competitions, editorial, production, TV rights, commercial, and marketing), and the results are beginning to show: for example, commercial revenues have doubled compared to the pre-COVID cycle, and this is evidence of Italian football growing and a league that works well. And also in terms of sports, as we constantly see in European competitions, the rankings are the result, Italian football works well».
MATCHDAY, DIGITAL, AND BEYOND: PATHS TO GROW FOOTBALL
Football is one of the sectors that doesn’t seem to decline in popular interest. Is there also a possibility for growth, and if so, in which specific areas?
«I believe that sports in general, and football as a part of it, is a countercyclical sector. It has demonstrated this over the last 30/40 years, indeed it has also shown that it can grow from being just a sport to becoming a real business. We have seen many foreign investors coming to Europe, especially Americans, with the goal of professionalizing the sport. Growth for the future is a challenge. It’s true that we have returned to pre-COVID levels on all indicators, even surpassing them in some cases, but it’s difficult to understand where the sector can further grow».
Has the surge in TV rights revenues exhausted itself?
«Surely, the race for TV rights that has driven the growth of football, I believe, has now ended. We have seen this with all the auctions for European domestic rights, and it’s difficult to see TV rights revenues growing further. Instead, the commercial revenue sector is growing a lot, thanks to sponsorships continually increasing with the entry of new players from non-European countries such as Asia and the Middle East».
Stadiums have returned to being filled in Italy: can this be a factor?
«Yes, because there is an incredible hunger for live events, we see it in every sector. Since 1999, Serie A hadn’t had an average attendance of over 30,000 per game, and for 25 years, there hadn’t been so many spectators in Italy. This will be a growth factor in the years to come. One aspect that can be linked to matchday revenues and merchandising, for which all indicators are positive. Certainly, it’s necessary for clubs, and Juventus is very committed to this issue, to listen to their fans and be able to involve them in the live experience. Then, as mentioned before, there will be the exploitation of the digital world linked to sports, where no one has yet managed to make a difference and have a path towards monetization».