The Italian Super Cup semi-final, featuring Inter Milan and Atalanta, has seen a significant increase in viewership on domestic TV in Italy. This growth is notable despite the match being hosted outside Italy.
Inter Milan triumphed over Atalanta with a 2-0 victory at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The match attracted an impressive crowd of 16,896 spectators. On Canale 5, an Italian broadcaster, the game drew an average of 5.4 million viewers - capturing a substantial 25.4% share of the national audience.
This figure represents a marked increase from the two semi-finals of the 2024 Supercoppa which together averaged only four million viewers with an 18.8% viewership share.
Outperforming past finals
Interestingly, this game outperformed several finals that took place within Italy over the last decade including those held in years like 2012 (4.9 million), and 2015 (4.6 million). It also came close to matching up to the viewership numbers for the final held in year 2017 (5.5 million), despite all three having higher shares of total viewership.
In fact, it has been recorded as highest viewed free-to-air match for this season so far - even surpassing round-of-16 Coppa Italia fixture between Juventus and Cagliari which had drawn only about half as many views at around just about three-and-a-half-million.
Mediaset operates Canale 5 and acquired rights to broadcast both Supercoppa and Coppa Italia knockout competition back in year '23; these rights are valid through till '27. The current edition is second consecutive one to be staged in Saudi Arabia as a four-team tournament, instead of the traditional single final fixture. Serie A has a six-year agreement with the Gulf state to host this competition, and this year marks the second year of that agreement.
Controversies & criticisms
The league has faced criticism for its long-term agreement with Saudi Arabia due to the country's human rights record. The first game held in Saudi Arabia came under fire as it was held just months after dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Serie A also faced pressure from BeIN Sports, a Qatar-based pay-TV broadcaster, to move Supercoppa out of Saudi Arabia due to conflicts over piracy issues. Despite these controversies, Serie A's president Paolo Dal Pino insisted on honoring their five-year contract and pledged cooperation with Ministry of Sports in Saudi Arabia on initiatives related to human rights.
Serie A President, Paolo Dal Pino, said:
“The question of human rights? We have a contract signed two or three years ago when I wasn't there. There is a relationship of intense collaboration with the Saudi Arabian federation on women's football and precisely in going in the direction of opening up human rights.”
Since 2009, multiple editions of Supercoppa have been hosted abroad - China has hosted three while Qatar staged two. With this edition, Saudi Arabia is now hosting its fifth. Despite being played outside Italy and amidst controversies surrounding its location choice; Inter-Atalanta Supercoppa Italiana continues growing its viewership year-on-year - proving itself an increasingly popular event among sports fans and sports betting enthusiasts alike.
