He Bundesliga It once again faces an uncertain future after the agreement with the investor ended. The bidding for the broadcasting rights was suspended for the moment because a conflict arose between Dazn and the DFL after the first round of the auction.
The coordinating organization of the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga reportedly had the TransmissionThe platform for the so-called broadcast rights package B, which included the 3:30 p.m. matches and Sunday matches in the Bundesliga, was not taken into account, even though Dazn had made the highest financial bid in the auction for the rights for the next. four years.
Pay TV broadcaster Sky wins rights dispute
“Editorially, Dazn fits better with the Bundesliga's plans to specifically target young target groups,” says Kai Rippe of leading sports marketing agency Sportfive. However, it appears that there may be concerns about the future solvency of Dazn, which has been pursuing an aggressive strategy in the sports rights market for several years. Dazn had the impression that they were not being considered for the 3:30 p.m. matches despite the best financial offer. The acquisition is extremely important for the station, which until now “only” broadcasts Bundesliga matches on Fridays and Sundays.
According to Rippe, in the mess that has now emerged there is only one winner. “Currently Sky seems to be the party that benefits the most from this,” says the sports marketing expert. The Unterföhring-based broadcaster so far broadcasts the Saturday Bundesliga matches at 3:30 p.m. as well as the main match at 6:30 p.m. and the entire 2nd Bundesliga and is considered the biggest competitor of Dazn. The third in the concert of bidders should be Amazon main video which has so far secured the rights to some of the best Champions League matches, but from now on would like to gain even more market share.
The DFL is the biggest loser
Of course, the DFL itself will not be very happy with the Bundesliga rights auction process, which has been put on hold for the moment. Due to Dazn's complaint letter, the Federal Cartel Office will be involved and could take a closer look at the process and possibly object to certain elements. Additionally, the DFL recently suffered a defeat when a potential deal with a major investor was rejected due to fan protests and criticism from some clubs.
The fact that Dazn is now revealing that the high-profile bid was rejected because there were concerns about the future viability of the ambitious broadcaster could put Sky in an even more advantageous negotiating position and possibly also drive down the price in the future. . Like any other major league, the DFL relies on revenue from broadcast rights. He English The Premier League is considered the world's leading league, not least because a huge amount of money is generated from the broadcast rights deal with Sky Sports UK.
Dazn's risky strategy
In Germany, on the other hand, the market for wealthy pay-TV channels that are willing to pay for live rights is still manageable, also because viewers in this country are not yet willing to afford many expensive subscriptions.
Dazn itself has been following the strategy for several years of getting broadcast rights to football and other sports for a lot of money, in the hope that at some point these rights packages will become lucrative and that the money will be recovered through advertising and subscriptions. The fact that Dazn is now going on the offensive and, in a sense, revealing that the DFL does not consider the streaming giant lucrative is a bold step, but there is probably no other alternative to still have a chance to bid for the important matches of late in the Bundesliga.
The biggest loser, however, is the DFL, which is once again facing negative headlines.