Destination Calcio: Why a little-known website bought Serie B media rights
Destination Calcio only popped up last summer and has a modest audience but has snapped up the live rights to Italian football’s Serie B in the UK and US until 2027. What’s going on?
Serie B may be at the niche end of football fandom, especially for British lovers of the game, but the Italian second tier is not without its charms.
Former European giants Sampdoria jockey for position with Bari, Palermo, Reggiana and other clubs who will be familiar to those raised on a diet of Channel 4’s cult coverage of Serie A in the 1990s.
There are also some recognisable faces, from 2006 World Cup winners Filippo Inzaghi and Fabio Grosso in the dugouts of Pisa and Sassuolo to players such as Domenico Berardi, part of Italy team who beat England in the final of Euro 2020, and even the odd Brit like former Leeds United midfielder Ronaldo Vieira and Scottish defender Josh Doig.
So the good news for Italophiles on both sides of the Atlantic is that Serie B is now available to watch for free in the UK and US, with three games shown live with English commentary from now until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Curiously, however, it is not on a free-to-air TV channel, subscription giants Sky Sports and TNT Sports, or even lesser-known paid-for platforms such as Dazn and Premier Sports.
Instead, Serie B is being shown on Destination Calcio, a recently launched portal dedicated to Italian football which is hosting the action on its website and app, starting with Sampdoria’s fixture against Cesena on Friday 17 January.
Destination Calcio only sprung up last summer, lacks the sheen of other media to put it mildly, and still has the most modest of audiences, with fewer than 1,000 followers on X and under 300 on Instagram.
“We’ve been biding our time until we made this announcement [about Serie B’s media rights],” editor Harry Slavin told City PM.
Since launch, Destination Calcio has been steadily populating its platform with content about both Serie A and Serie B, and Slavin hopes live coverage will turbo-charge its profile. “We want to be at the forefront of where people go to get their Italian football fix,” Slavin added.
So how has such a small operation acquired broadcast rights to the feeder competition to one of world football’s great leagues?
The answer lies in Destination Calcio’s parent company, Sent Entertainment, a London-based offshoot of Indonesian tobacco giant Djarum Group.
Sent Entertainment comprises a film production company, record label, CBD drinks brand and, crucially, Como 1907, the Italian football club enjoying a top-flight revival under the coaching of former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea star Cesc Fabregas.
For Sent Entertainment, Destination Calcio’s Serie B rights deal offers a means of raising the profile of Italian football more widely.
Having paid for the broadcast coverage, the parent company will look to monetise the content through digital advertising.
And should Como, who currently sit one point above the relegation zone, drop back into the second tier, their owners will have a ready-made vehicle for ensuring continued exposure for the team, sponsors and the league beyond a domestic audience.