The DFL German soccer body has achieved a 2% increase in media rights value after today confirming its new broadcast deals for the next four-year cycle following a drawn-out process.
Despite its issues, the league has once again exceeded the €1 billion ($1 billion) mark in the awarding of German-language media rights.
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For the 2025-26 to 2028-29 seasons, the 36 clubs that make up the top-flight Bundesliga and second-tier 2. Bundesliga can expect revenues totalling €1.121 billion per season.
Total revenues across the four years will come to just under €4.5 billion.
With the new rights deals, the Bundesliga continues to have the second largest domestic broadcast contract of all major leagues, behind only the English Premier League.
The DFL has confirmed pay-TV giant Sky Deutschland and global sports streaming service DAZN as the league’s main broadcast partners once again.
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, free-to-air commercial broadcaster Sat.1 has also secured an extensive live free-to-air (FTA) rights package. This includes the season opening of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, the relegation and the Supercup.
Elsewhere, ARD and ZDF, Germany's two prominent public service broadcasters, have retained highlight rights packages, while multi-channel FTA network Sport1 also has rights to broadcast highlights of Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga games.
The DFL stated that all rights were awarded “in an open, transparent and non-discriminatory tender, which has been agreed with the Federal Cartel Office.”
Steffen Merkel, DFL co-CEO, said: “The result of the tender underlines the unbroken popularity of German professional football in economically challenging times. Trust and unity in the league association have paid off.
“At the end of an intensive process, we now have a very good and extensively secured economic result. The clubs therefore have planning security at a high financial level for four more years. For the fans, the future partners in the pay and free areas mean a high degree of consistency.”
Co-CEO Marc Lenz added: “The financial security achieved with this result is a key basis for the positive development of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.
“From this position of strength, we must tackle the economic, sporting and political challenges – and further develop our leagues together with the 36 clubs and make them future-proof.”
DAZN has secured Package A in the Bundesliga domestic rights tender for the next four seasons, with that package including the ‘Konferenz’ offering that provides coverage of matches (161 in total) played at the same time in the 3:30pm (CET) slot on Saturday afternoons.
The ‘Konferenz’ programme has been a key feature of Sky Deutschland’s Bundesliga coverage for many years. It was first rolled out by Sky's predecessor Premiere in August 2000.
DAZN has also snapped up Package D in the tender, which gives it rights for the 79 Sunday games each season.
Meanwhile, the coveted and controversial Package B will remain with Sky for the next four seasons.
That package, one of five reserved for pay-TV broadcasters only, includes matches played on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons and comprises a total of 196 per season. It also includes the Bundesliga relegation play-off matches.
Sky has also secured Package C, which includes the top match on Saturday evenings and all games from the 2. Bundesliga (275 matches).
ARD has landed the highlights (first use on free TV) of Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga games on early Saturday evening and on Friday and Sunday evening.
ZDF will continue to have secondary use of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga highlights on free TV on Saturday evening as well as the first free TV use of the top Bundesliga game. The broadcaster also secured the rights package for free highlights of the matches in both leagues from Monday.
Sport1 has the right to broadcast highlights from the top two German divisions on Friday and Saturday and on Sunday morning.
Commercial broadcaster RTL, meanwhile, has acquired the pay rights for highlight clips of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga matches on demand immediately after the end of the game.
The newly introduced short clip rights from Monday were snapped up by Axel Springer, the German publishing giant.
Audio rights were also awarded in the tender, with ARD winning in both areas (FM and web/mobile).
Domestic live TV rights to Bundesliga action during the current cycle – 2021-22 through 2024-25 – are shared between Sky Deutschland, DAZN, ProSiebenSat.1, and Sport1, while ARD holds FTA highlights rights.
These deals are worth, in total, around €1.1 billion annually, with the league succeeding in retaining this value for the new agreements.
This finally brings an end to a protracted tender process which was delayed following a legal dispute with DAZN after the DFL awarded Package B to Sky and was forced to suspend the tender.
In late September, the DFL was ordered to re-auction its key domestic media rights package by the German Institution of Arbitration which ruled in favour of DAZN in the legal case.
DAZN took legal action after claiming the DFL acted unlawfully in not accepting its bid in the tender.
Following the delay and the court’s ruling, the DFL resumed the auction on November 25 and has moved quickly to award the domestic rights before the new year.
