German soccer’s DFL league governing body is set to get its domestic media rights tender for the next four-year cycle back underway on November 25, as it attempts to conclude a process that has already lasted nine months (and has led to legal action by streaming heavyweight DAZN).
The DFL is having to move fast, presumably in an attempt to wrap up rights deals by the beginning of 2025, with the next four-year rights cycle (2025-26 through 2028-29) set to begin in around 10 months.
German soccer’s league body originally thought it was in a good position to wrap up the tender - which covers the Bundesliga, 2.Bundesliga, relegation playoffs between the two leagues, and the curtain-raising German Supercup - by the end of last season, when it set an original date of April 15 for the domestic rights auction.
What followed, however, caused a six-month delay. Global streaming service - and existing Bundesliga domestic partner - DAZN, angered at the DFL (reportedly) awarding one of the main rights packages to rivals Sky Deutschland, filed a lawsuit against the league, claiming the body acted unlawfully in not accepting its bid for package B, which contains rights to 196 games per season.
Then, in late September, the German Institute of Arbitration (DIS) ruled primarily in DAZN’s favor on the matter, stating that the DFL needed to re-auction package B - although the league has now said it will put all 15 packages (seven for live rights and eight for highlights) back up for auction.
This will now take place in late November, with all of the packages unchanged in their specifics, and with the DFL likely aiming to wrap up the process by the time the league returns from its winter break, in mid-January.
The DFL, in a statement outlining the new auction process today, has said the timing “takes into account the importance of the tender for the clubs' and the DFL Group's financial planning and at the same time offers all interested parties the opportunity to prepare for the continuation of the auction process in the best possible way with sufficient lead time.”
Package B, one of four reserved for pay-TV broadcasters only, includes matches played on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. It is made up of a total of 196 per season and is regarded as the most attractive package on offer.
DAZN believed it placed the largest offer and expected to secure the rights - as was not the case - as the DFL tender stipulates that a bidder will be awarded the contract immediately if its offer meets the minimum requirement and is at least 20% higher than the second-best offer.
Currently, DAZN splits live Bundesliga rights alongside Sky, ProSiebenSat.1, and Sport1. These deals are worth, in total, around €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) annually, with the league seeking to retain this value for the next deal.
In its letter to the DFL, which was sent to co-CEOs Steffen Merkel and Marc Lenz, as well as all 36 clubs in the top two divisions in Germany, DAZN was also critical of the league for demanding a bank guarantee at short notice.
In the domestic tender, four of the live rights packages (which can now be sold to a single buyer, although this is not compulsory) are for pay-TV, two are technology-neutral covering the second-tier Bundesliga 2, and one is for free-to-air rights to at least nine live games across the whole portfolio (from both leagues, the Supercup, and the post-season relegation playoffs).
The rights lots will cover 617 matches per season, while there are also three audio rights packages on offer, as well as one covering ‘digital out of home.’
In addition, new highlights rights packages have also been created, that can be used as early as Mondays following the weekend’s action. One of these will focus on digital platforms, including the broadcasting of 90-second clips.
The DFL took the first steps towards launching the tender in January, and at that point was hoping to have the process finished in June.
