German soccer’s elite Bundesliga has revealed its new broadcast mix for the UK and Ireland going forward, including a blend of linear pay-TV, OTT, and free-to-air distribution.
The set of multi-year deals covering the next cycle is led by incumbent broadcaster and pay-TV heavyweight Sky Sports, which retains the exclusive rights to the top-match” per gameweek each Saturday (with a 5:30pm UK time kick-off).
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This will be supplemented by highlights packages and other shoulder content throughout the season.
Prime Video, the OTT service owned by e-commerce giant Amazon, has also acquired a suite of Bundesliga rights across the cycle in the UK market only, airing every Sunday game on a pay-per-view basis, including both the season-ending relegation play-offs and the season-opening DFL Super Cup in 2027.
As German soccer’s DFL organizer is already partnered with Amazon Web Services, this deal serves to entrench the pair’s relationship.
In addition to Prime Video and Sky, significant free-to-air coverage has also been agreed, with UK public-service broadcaster BBC also snapping up rights.
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By GlobalDataEvery Friday night Bundesliga game through the season will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer OTT service and the BBC Sport digital platform.
Free-to-air distribution of these Friday games will be supplemented by significant coverage on YouTube in a major first. To this end, partnerships have been agreed with prominent soccer content creators such as The Overlap (which features former English Premier League stars Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Ian Wright) and That’s Football (helmed by prominent fan media personality Mark Goldbridge).
These YouTube channels will showcase 20 matches each across the season, with Bundesliga International chief executive officer Peer Naubert stating: “This multi-layered strategy allows us to connect with more audiences across the UK and Ireland, giving every supporter the chance to engage with football as it’s meant to be in the way that suits them best."
Even the Bundesliga's own YouTube channel will showcase every Friday game from the top flight and the second-tier 2. Bundesliga, to aid the growth in reach.
Naubert continued: “By combining established broadcasters with digital platforms and content creators, we are taking a progressive step in how top-level football can be experienced.”
There already exists a strong UK interest in the Bundesliga in the form of England captain Harry Kane, who plays for record champions Bayern Munich.
Kane was joined in the Bundesliga over the previous summer by young stars Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund) and Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), expanding the potential draw for English viewers.
In terms of the Bundesliga’s domestic partners for the next cycle, live rights will be split between pay-TV heavyweight Sky Deutschland and the DAZN sports streaming service, with the total value of those tie-ups (as well as rights for highlights and short clips) over the next four seasons coming to $1.17 billion per campaign.
