Sky Deutschland’s Bundesliga deal will keep OTT players at bay



Sky Deutschland’s acquisition of domestic football rights will help it fight off competition from over-the-top TV providers, according to Morgan Stanley.

Christian Seifert, DFL CEO, and League Association president Reinhard Rauball

Sky Deutschland yesterday retained the broadcast rights to Germany’s top football league for four seasons from 2013-2014.

“Sky D now has visibility over the next five years of Bundesliga rights on all platforms. This should dispel fears in this period about the future threat of over-the-top competition and unbundling. Sky D is effectively able to lock out such competition,” Morgan Stanley noted.

Germany’s football League Association yesterday secured deals worth €2.5 billion for four league seasons, which is equivalent to around €628 million per year and an increase of approximately 52% on the current deal.

Sky will continue to broadcast all Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches live, having secured the pay TV rights for cable, satellite, terrestrial and IPTV, as well as web TV and mobile phone distribution. An early round-up of the Saturday games will continue to be shown on free-to-air television, with ARD retaining rights to the Saturday round-up.

ARD will continue to offer highlights of Sunday matches and has also secured a seven-game package for live broadcast on free-to-air TV. This includes the opening games of the season and post-winter break restart, the promotion/relegation play-offs and the pre-season Supercup. ZDF will continue to hold the rights for the second showing of the Saturday afternoon games and the first showing of the late Saturday kick-off. Sport1 will continue to broadcast the Friday and Sunday Bundesliga 2 round-ups and the live Bundesliga 2 match on Monday evening.

For the first time, Axel Springer will be able to offer clips from all the games on web TV platforms and mobile phone networks. The clips will be available for a fee from an hour after the end of the games, and for free after midnight of the same day.