DFL is starting a new auction soon
What consequences the DAZN ruling has for the league and fans
September 25, 2024, 8:26 a.m
Second attempt: The league sells its television rights and wants to raise as much money as possible. The auction lasts almost two weeks. It is not yet clear when exactly it will start and therefore not who will broadcast the Bundesliga games from 2025/2026. The questions and answers about it.
After an arbitration court ruling, the German Football League has to restart the auction of TV rights. Billionaire poker should start again as soon as possible. With a delay of around five months, a total of 15 TV packages are to be awarded to the highest bidders and media companies.
What does this mean for the fans? Due to the delay in the auction, fans will be late in knowing which subscriptions they need for the coming season. Theoretically, it may be that only one contract will be necessary in the future. However, it is still possible that more than two subscriptions will be necessary from 2025. The delay initially has no consequences for the current Bundesliga season. Football fans’ contracts with Sky and/or DAZN continue to apply.
What happens now? The DFL is starting the aborted auction process from scratch. This means that package B, which has already been awarded, is coming onto the market again. It includes the games on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and on Friday evening as well as the relegation games. That’s a total of 196 live games. The dispute between DFL and DAZN was sparked by the award of package B.
The DFL managing directors Steffen Merkel (l.) and Marc Lenz have to organize a new auction.
(Photo: IMAGO/Team 2)
Why is the package so valuable? So far, more than 80 percent of the revenue, averaging around 1.1 billion euros per season, comes from marketing the pay area – and this relationship to free TV is unlikely to change even after the new auction. B is the largest pay package and is therefore likely to have the largest share of total revenue.
What other packages are important? Packages A, C and D are also valuable. They contain additional pay TV rights for live broadcasts of the 1st league.
- A contains the conferences.
- C is the package with the top games on Saturday at 6.30 p.m. and the Supercup. It is the smallest with 34 games, but is very popular thanks to the top games.
- D includes the Sunday games. With a total of 79 live games, it includes the option of showing games several times on free TV.
What consequences does the restart of the auction have for Sky and DAZN? Both companies now know how much package B is worth to their competitor. This has never happened before. According to consistent media reports, DAZN offered around 400 million euros annually for package B – around 1.6 billion euros for the four-year rights period. Over this period of four seasons, the offer is said to have been around 320 million euros more than the competition. These numbers are likely to help Sky in particular when calculating a new offer. The competitor now knows that a bank guarantee is necessary and can meet all formal requirements in good time in order to be successful with a higher offer.
What does this mean for the DFL? The DFL didn’t look good when the auction was canceled. The arbitration court noticed a procedural error and partially upheld the “complaint against the award of rights package B in the media rights tender for the 2025/26 to 2028/29 seasons,” as the league put it. The restart could now pay off for the league. Since competitors are likely to bid more in the re-auction than they did the first time, the league could generate more revenue than it would have in the first attempt.
What does this mean for the clubs? The Bundesliga clubs also have to wait until the end of the auction and the subsequent discussions about the distribution of TV money in order to advance their precise planning for the season, which begins in less than a year. The uncertainty is likely to complicate contract negotiations with new and old players. If higher income is achieved in the end, the clubs should still be satisfied.
What other packages are available at the auction? In the paid area, the DFL offers 275 games from the 2nd league. This also includes 98 conferences. On free TV, the summaries on Saturday, which are currently shown on “Sportschau”, are the most valuable package. There is only a small live offer for free-to-air television. Package E contains three first division games, one second division game, the relegation with four matches and the Supercup. The 33 games on Saturday evening from package G 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.
