The sports press market - Italy

The sports press includes titles dealing with sports and sports news. Sports press titles are found in both the magazine and newspaper segments, with a wide variety of formats (newspapers or magazines) and publication rates: daily, weekly, or monthly. The sports press does not include the automotive and motorcycle press. The world sports print market is very specific to different continents. The print format is very popular in China and India, two giants in terms of ratings. However, in Europe and North America, the print format is gradually losing ground to digital. The Italian sports print market has been severely affected by the advent first of satellite TV, and then of digital terrestrial TV, which has allowed sports news to be broadcast much more quickly, putting a strain on the business model of sports presses unable to publish news, at least in print format, in near-real time. The same problem was later underscored by the advent of social media, which is characterized by high immediacy and speed in the communication and dissemination of news. Nevertheless, the use of online forms of communication based on the use of the Internet represents a great opportunity for growth in the sports print market. Indeed, there is a growing inclination of the population, especially the younger population, toward digital formats of print media, including sports. In this regard, however, it should also be noted the incessant proliferation of blogs devoted to publishing sports news, which, while not particularly significant, nonetheless pose a threat to the development of the sports print market. Among the most established titles on the Italian scene are undoubtedly "La Gazzetta dello Sport," "Il Corriere dello Sport," and "Tuttosport," which enjoy a high reputation especially among the older population. In addition, the sports press market in Italy is currently under heavy criticism for lack of innovation and poor quality. There is indeed a growing concern about this market especially with regard to the reliability of sources used by journalists.