Bundesliga rights packages agreed with increase in TV deals

Rights packages for the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 have been agreed, with revenues for the 2025-26 to 2028-29 seasons exceeding the previous cycle.

The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) said the rights deals total revenue of €4.484 billion, an increase of around two per cent compared to the previous cycle.

“The result of the tender underlines the unbroken popularity of German professional football, despite economically challenging times,” said DFL chief executive Steffen Merkel.

“Trust and unity within the league association have paid off. At the end of an intensive process, a very good and comprehensively secured financial result has now been achieved. The clubs now have planning security at a high financial level for another four years. For the fans, our future partners in both the pay and free-to-air markets will provide a high degree of consistency.”

In the area of pay-TV, there will continue to be two media partners. Live coverage of the Bundesliga’s single matches on Friday and Saturday (including the Saturday evening top match) will be broadcast by Sky Germany. The broadcaster will also show all Bundesliga 2 matches.

Meanwhile, DAZN will broadcast the Saturday conference (showing key moments from the 4-5 Bundesliga matches that kick off concurrently at 3:30pm CET each week) and all Bundesliga single matches on Sunday.

The Bundesliga 2’s Saturday evening match will also be broadcast free-to-air on RTL.

Sat.1 has secured a comprehensive live rights package for free TV, including the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 season openers, the relegation play-offs and the Super Cup.

ARD has secured the highlights (the first showing on free-to-air TV) of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches on early Saturday evening and on Friday and Sunday evening.

ZDF retains the rights to the second airing of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 highlights on free-to-air TV on Saturday evening, as well as the first showing of highlights of the Bundesliga’s top match on free-to-air TV.

Sport1 will continue to have the right to broadcast highlights of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches from Friday and Saturday on Sunday morning.

RTL acquired the pay-TV rights for highlight clips of Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches immediately after the end of the match. ZDF secured the rights package for free-to-air highlights of matches in both leagues from Monday.

The newly introduced short clip rights from Monday go to Axel Springer. The audio rights were also awarded – ARD secured them in both available areas (FM and web/mobile).

In its own statement, Sky Germany has positioned itself as the home of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga until 2029; from 2025/26 through 2028/2029, Sky will remain the main partner of the Bundesliga with a total of 538 of the 617 matches of the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga live, 496 exclusively.

The broadcaster’s acquired rights are valid for all distribution channels across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other German-speaking territories in Europe.

Sky has also committed to showing more games in UHD/HDR, and in a statement said live games now come with additional media rights allowing it to “create an immersive experience with all the goals putting the fan in control of their viewing experience”.

Sky Germany chief executive Barny Mills said: “Sky remains the home of the Bundesliga. This is a fantastic result for football fans, Bundesliga clubs and Sky.

“Sky has secured more games, the most games and the best games. Going forward Sky Sport will offer fans 80 per cent of all games exclusively and 100 per cent of the top matches.”

Meanwhile, DAZN has expanded its live coverage from 106 to 240 games per season. In a statement, the streaming platform said that “with 240 games per season – including 161 games in the conference and 79 live games on Sunday – DAZN promises the most extensive Bundesliga live coverage”.

DAZN DACH chief executive Alice Mascia said: “We are very pleased that we can expand our partnership with the DFL and the Bundesliga clubs in the long term until 2029.

“With this investment, we are increasing our Bundesliga reach and are committed to offering all football fans even more opportunities and innovations to follow their favorite sport.

“Together with the UEFA Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup and the top international leagues, the new Bundesliga media rights confirm that DAZN is the unrivaled home of football and offers fans the best football experience in one place.”