We wouldn’t swear that Vincent Labrune is spending the best hours of his life, between the front page of The Team which is dedicated to him, not for good reasons, and the news fell yesterday. The president of the Professional Football League had explained on several occasions that the deal for TV rights for Ligue 1, in sharp decline, was the best possible due to the overall decline in the market. However, yesterday, two competitions were sold for at least 1 billion euros to broadcasters. For the first, the Club World Cup, the amount is not official, and could be the result of a clever setup. For the second on the other hand, the Bundesliga, it is official, and the amount even exceeds a billion. 1.121 billion per season, or a total of 4.484 billion over the period 2025-2029 which was put on sale by the German Football League (DFL). An increase of €84 million compared to the previous period (2021-2025), but not the record, held by the 2017-2021 period which brought in a total of 4.64 billion to the DFL and therefore to German clubs.
This must make the entire Ligue 1 college jealous, especially since the structure of the new German deal leaves room for two broadcasters. It is about Sky Germanyhistoric broadcaster, and DAZNwhich secured one of the most desired lots, that of the 3:30 p.m. multiplex on Saturday, with 5 matches. sky will broadcast each of its 5 matches but will not be able to offer multiplexes, only DAZN wanted to add to its offer at all costs. The British platform also recovers the 2 Sunday matches, while sky will broadcast the Friday evening match, the 5 matches on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and the poster for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
The boss of the DFL, Hans-Joachim Watzke (who still officiates at Borussia Dortmund), expressed his joy at this juicy new contract. “This is a result that will make all of Europe react. Given the market environment, no one would have believed we could do this”. Germany in fact overtakes Spain on the rights market and establishes itself as a solid second behind the untouchable England and its 1.95 billion euros per season for domestic rights (excluding sales abroad) . Watzke can puff out his chest, since he is the only one to have improved his amount on the national scene. Remember that Ligue 1 ceded its domestic rights to DAZN (€400 million per season) and beIN Sports (€100 million per season) for a total amount of €500 million. However, everything is not rosy in Germany either, mainly for the consumer. In Germany, DAZN will pay €280 million per season for its lot (the Saturday multiplex and the 2 Sunday matches), while sky will pay €620 million. The rest is the responsibility of those who purchased the summaries or digital content.
The consumer, still the big loser
As in France or Italy, having two diffusers increases the bill. Especially since DAZNwhich had entered the German market a few years ago with discount offers of 10 euros per month, now offers a rate of 35 euros per month (with commitment) to benefit from broadcast Bundesliga matches. 45 euros without subscription. Which caused a certain rejection from viewers. And some already fear that this price will increase further with the acquisition of the Saturday multiplex, the Bundesliga’s premier piece. “The biggest loser is football fans. I predict: broadcasters will pass on the expenses linked to TV rights to their subscribers and increase their prices again”explains Dr. Michael Schaffrath, media specialist at the University of Munich. However, let us remember that the attachment of the German public to their favorite club is incomparable with French fans, as evidenced by the always remarkable attendance in the first and second division stadiums. And that DAZN will ultimately pay less than during the last call for tenders (€300 million over the period 2021-2025).
sky in any case mourns the loss of its multiplex, which the channel itself created 25 years ago, but limits the damage with the Friday evening match recovered. All for a very high total price, slightly higher than that of the current period. “The possibility of having a return on investment for television, or streaming services, is limited. Football represents a grave worth several billion euros for sky And DAZN. However, without football, both channels would have died long ago. One wonders how long football fans will continue to support the channels”continues Michael Schaffrath. Because sky is not cheap either, with a subscription of 30 euros per month for the Bundesliga package. The clubs are rubbing their hands, less so the viewers, who can still count on free television to broadcast the summaries including the“ARD-Sportschau” broadcast on Saturday and Sunday evenings.
