“No Single Buyer” Rule Implemented for Bundesliga Rights

BONN: Beginning with the 2017/2018 season, no single platform in Germany will be able to lock up the media rights to live Bundesliga football matches.

The competition authority, the Bundeskartellamt, has approved the new marketing model submitted by the the German League Association and the German Football League (DFL). In order to address competition concerns, in the future no single bidder will be able to acquire the rights to broadcast all the live Bundesliga matches.

“For us it was important to have rules which ensure that more than one single bidder gains the live rights to Bundesliga games,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt. “As long as there is only one holder of live rights in the market, there is the danger that innovation competition, especially from internet-based offers, will be restricted. As experience from other countries, e.g. England, shows, such a model does not usually mean that consumers need more than one subscription to be able to view all the games. Rights holders can also grant one another sublicences. In addition to this there should also be offers which only show some of the live games.”

Beginning with the rights for the 2017/2018 season, between 30 and 102 Bundesliga matches (of a total of 306 games), together with highlights coverage, can be purchased by an alternative bidder.

Sky Germany currently holds all live pay-TV rights to Bundesliga, awarded in the last bidding round in 2012. The next auction is set to begin in the coming months.