In the conflict between the German Football League (DFL) and the streaming service “DAZN” over the auction for the broadcasting rights of the Bundesliga, an arbitration tribunal made a decision on Tuesday (September 24, 2024). According to this, the streaming provider’s claim was partially upheld.
The arbitration ruling stipulates that the DFL must re-run the controversial partial auction of rights package B. The league association plans to publish details on the continuation of the media rights award “after further substantive coordination in the DFL executive committee”. The reasons for the arbitration tribunal’s decision will not be sent to the disputing parties until November.
In mid-April, the DFL suspended the auction of German-language media rights for the four seasons from 2025/26 to 2028/29. Specifically, this concerns a rights package for the live rights to the Saturday games at 3:30 p.m. as well as the individual games on Friday evening and the relegation (a total of 196 games per season).
The positions:
- “DAZN” feels discriminated againstbecause his offer was rejected, even though it was “the most financially attractive and convincing”. The bid is said to have amounted to 400 million euros per season – a total of 1.6 billion euros.
- Die DFL did not accept the financial guarantees given by “DAZN”Therefore, the corresponding package is said to have already gone to “Sky” despite a lower offer.
DAZN then appealed to the arbitration court, and the arguments were presented at the German Institution of Arbitration (DIS).
A camera at a Bundesliga match
Concern about media revenues – time is running out for the clubs
All rights should actually have been awarded in the first half of the year. With a view to planning security, time is now running out for the 36 professional clubs. The club bosses are hoping that the dispute will end so that the auction can continue. After all, media revenue is the clubs’ biggest source of income. The licensing process officially begins in March, but planning must be done beforehand.
Revenues fell in other European markets: Italy reported a slight decline, while in France the result fell far short of expectations. The DFL wants to avoid this. In the current contract cycle from 2021 to 2025, the clubs will receive around 1.1 billion euros per season – which already corresponds to an annual loss of 100 million compared to the previous cycle.
End of the ban on sole proprietorship
The end of the no-single-buyer rule is a significant change in the new tender. This rule from the most recent tenders stated that not a single pay-TV provider could buy all live rights, but at least two had to be involved. “Sky” and “DAZN” will share these rights until 2025. In the current auction, a single broadcaster could acquire all pay-TV rights.
The approved model also makes it possible to omit the Bundesliga summary on free TV on Saturdays from 6:30 p.m., as is currently offered by Sportschau. With this variant, which has now been announced, the highlights would only be shown on free-to-air television from 7:15 p.m. A second variant would still have a summary at 6:30 p.m.
