A TV blackout in the Bundesliga had not been seriously expected. Therefore, the deal between the streaming service DAZN and the German Football League is not surprising for the rest of the season. It is still unclear what will happen to Amazon.
Hamburg (dpa) - The football fans do not have to fear a TV blackout in the remaining Bundesliga season.
The German Football League and the paid streaming service DAZN agreed on the transmission of nine games and the four relegation matches to the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga, the DFL and DAZN said. The Berlin derby between Union and Hertha BSC can be seen at DAZN on Friday (8.30 p.m.), the match between Schalke 04 and FC Augsburg follows on Sunday (1.30 p.m.).
It is still open whether DAZN exclusively shows the encounters. According to information from the German Press Agency, the DFL is also negotiating with Amazon. The Internet giant had surprisingly presented Werder Bremen's game against Bayer Leverkusen on Monday via its Amazon Prime platform parallel to DAZN. The online retailer - like DAZN before - had acquired the broadcasting right from the DFL. This was only possible because the corporation Eurosport / Discovery had terminated its contract with the DFL during the corona break according to dpa information.
Since this season, DAZN has presented the Bundesliga through a sublicense contract with Eurosport that includes 40 point games, 30 of which are on Friday and five each on Sunday and Monday, plus the four relegation games. However, this contract is no longer valid after the termination of Eurosport. DAZN therefore no longer has an exclusive right. The DFL can also negotiate with other providers and generate additional income. So far, Amazon had only bought Bundesliga audio rights.
A blackout was not a serious threat as there are enough prospects in the market. In addition to DAZN and Amazon, Telekom would also have been considered as an established sports broadcaster. ARD or ZDF were eliminated. Because the rights package only applied to the Pay TV area.
As usual, all other games will be presented live on Sky. During the comeback of the season after the Corona break, the pay-TV broadcaster also ran the conference programs of the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga on its free TV channel Sky Sport News HD last weekend. This should happen one last time next weekend.
On the remaining game days of the season, Sky will again show the highlights programs exclusively for its customers behind the payment barrier. The broadcaster had said it had decided to launch a special campaign for the first two matchdays after the restart so that as many fans as possible could enjoy the Bundesliga in the challenging situation of the corona pandemic.
Homepage DAZN
Tweet DFL
