Germany: “No Single Buyer” for Bundesliga

Germany’s top soccer league will not be allowed to sell exclusive rights for live television broadcasts after the country’s competition watchdog insisted on a “no single buyer” rule for the imminent Bundesliga rights auction, three sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

While German soccer fans may have to subscribe to more than one pay-TV service to watch all live broadcasts in future, the rule may yet drive up prices in an auction the Bundesliga’ owner, the German Football League, hopes to conclude early this summer.

DFL voiced its opposition to the rule precluding any buyer from securing all the TV rights, one of the sources said, but the cartel office stood firm in an effort to foster competition.

Such a rule could undermine the strategy of Sky Deutschland, which holds all the Bundesliga live broadcast rights to the end of the 2016/17 season, having paid 2.5 billion euros in 2012 to trump a bid by Deutsche Telekom.

Parent company Sky has encountered the same scenario in Britain, where it now shares English Premier League rights with telecoms group BT after one of the most high-profile broadcast auctions of recent times forced the rivals to shell out a combined 5.14 billion pounds, smashing analysts’ expectations.

Full content: Reuters

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.