Borussia Dortmund, the heavyweights from German soccer’s top-tier Bundesliga, have entered into a strategic partnership for at least the next four years with Sky Deutschland, the prominent pay-TV operation in the country. 

The tie-up covers areas including editorial content, sales and marketing, and runs until the end of 2025 (at the earliest). 

On the editorial side, Sky will gradually introduce various pieces of Dortmund-specific club content onto its platforms, both linear and digital, with the first of these shows to be the ‘BVB Holiday Magazine’ programme that will air each Friday evening on Sky Sport Bundesliga 1.

Sky will also show a 10-part programme entitled ‘BVB 09 – stories who we are’, giving viewers an exclusive look behind the scenes at the Dortmund club, every Thursday evening during the autumn.

Sky has said that the two parties will be “intensifying their editorial collaboration … BVB players and officials are increasingly involved in Sky formats.”

In addition, Sky is set to include BVB TV in a 12-month bundle offer, alongside the Sky Supersport Ticket, for €19.99 ($23.46), and will also reward loyal customers with Dortmund-themed prizes and activation opportunities, such as the opportunity to watch Dortmund home games from pitchside. 

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Hans Gabbe, senior vice-president of sports rights and communications at Sky Deutschland, has said: “We have agreed a long-term partnership with BVB that is second to none and through which we can make our content even more attractive for BVB fans. The complexity of the agreement offers us many opportunities.”

Carsten Cramer, managing director of sales and marketing at Borussia Dortmund, added: “We are happy and proud that Sky, as a long-term TV partner of the Bundesliga, has chosen Borussia Dortmund for such an exciting project. We are looking forward to the coming years together.”

Sky currently shares domestic Bundesliga rights with international over-the-top streaming service DAZN, through a deal struck in June last year and worth €4.4 billion in total (jointly). 

Meanwhile, Dortmund have announced they will try and raise €86.5 million through an increase in share capital, in an attempt to cover the financial impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the club’s finances.

The club will issue almost 18.4 million shares, priced at €4.70 per share.

Initially, these will be offered to existing shareholders at a ratio of 5:1 – five existing shares entitles a shareholder to buy one new. 

The club has said that all these shares have already been placed and that the capital fundraising will be completed by 8 October. 

Hans-Joachim Watzke, the club’s chief executive, said: “With this capital increase, Borussia Dortmund has reached a major milestone in overcoming the economic impact it already had to endure as a result of the pandemic. We intend to use the proceeds from the capital increase primarily to repay financial liabilities and to compensate for potential further losses the Company might incur.”

Last month, the club reported a loss of €72.8 million for the 2021/21 financial year, a significant increase from the €44 million loss reported in 2019-20.

Unsurprisingly, given the pandemic forced almost all the 2020-21 Bundesliga to take place behind closed doors, the club’s ticketing revenue suffered the most, falling year on year from €32.5 million to just €600,000.