DFL auctions TV rights: You have to reckon with these subscription models

Millions of euros are at stake for the Bundesliga clubs: the German Football League (DFL) is auctioning off 15 TV packages to the highest bidding broadcasters and media companies until December 4th. It is the second attempt after the first attempt had to be canceled after just one day in April. The result of the tender is of enormous importance for the clubs and fans in the coming years. Where can the games be seen in the future? And who pays how much?

After the heated dispute between the DFL and the Internet broadcaster Dazn over a bank guarantee for the award of rights pact B with 196 live games, the German Institution for Arbitration (DIS) decided: The award made at the time to the pay-TV broadcaster Sky is ineffective . But Dazn didn’t win the contract either. The Solomonic verdict: Everything starts again.

Most of it is identical. The DFL will begin selling package B again this Monday, the largest package with the games on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and on Friday evening as well as the relegation games. The other pay-TV packages will then follow in the first week. What is new is that in the second week the free TV packages will be sold on three days instead of five. In addition, the auction rules have been slightly adjusted so that a dispute like the one in April cannot happen again.

Packages A, C and D are also particularly valuable. They also contain pay TV rights for live broadcasts of the 1st league in the 2025/26 to 2028/29 seasons. To date, more than 80 percent of revenue comes from audiovisual marketing in the paid area.

The DFL offer contains a few complicated details, which ARD in particular is putting under pressure with its “Sportschau”. For delayed highlight reporting, Package I is offered in two versions: “Compact” and “Classic”.

At Kompakt the highlights could be seen on Saturday between 7:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. However, this version is not an option for ARD, as the Tagesschau runs from 8 p.m. The appeal of this new, later broadcast time is obvious: if you watch the Bundesliga highlights until 8:15 p.m., you might just stick with the channel – which promises higher ratings for prime time.

The Classic model, however, allows summaries from 6 p.m. You would receive the “Sportschau” in its current form. Private broadcasters or pay providers can indirectly help finance the end of the “Sportschau” by buying this time slot.

Of the 617 games per season, only nine can be seen live on free TV. Package E contains three first division games, one second division game, the relegation with four matches and the Supercup. This package is currently available from ProSiebenSat.1.

Package G with 33 games on Saturday evening could – as is currently the case on Sky and Sport1 – be broadcast in parallel on free and pay TV in the future. The DFL is also selling six additional highlight rights packages for freely accessible channels. There are further rights packages for audio and digital outdoor advertising.

Due to the delay in the auction, fans will be late in knowing which subscriptions they need for the coming season. The following still applies: Theoretically, it may be that only one contract will be necessary in the future if a company buys the four different first league packages for pay TV. However, it could also be the case that from 2025 fans will need many more subscriptions than they currently do in order to be able to watch all live games on TV.

The DFL sets a minimum amount for each package. In the simplest case, it works like this: Whoever offers the most money automatically receives the contract and receives a message on the same day. A special and complicated case only occurs when the next best bid is 20 percent or less lower than that of the highest bidder. Then there is a second round and finally a decision by the DFL if the difference remains the same.

Additional source: “t-online”