Sports streaming platform Abema has retained free-to-air (FTA) rights in Japan to German soccer’s top-flight Bundesliga after renewing its agreement for the 2026-27 season.
Under the new agreement, Abema will air live Bundesliga matches every week during the 2026-27 season, starting with the Super Cup match between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich on August 23 before the league season starts on August 29 (JST).
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While the broadcaster has not specified the number of matches per week, it has said its coverage will primarily focus on games involving teams with Japanese players.
As part of its coverage, Abema will also air the relegation and promotion playoffs at the end of the season.
A total of 14 Japanese players across six clubs are due to compete in the Bundesliga for the 2026-27 season, including Hiroki Itō (Bayern Munich), Ritsu Dōan and Keita Kosugi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Kaishu Sano and Sota Kawasaki (Mainz), Yuito Suzuki, Rihito Yamamoto, Mio Backhaus, and Keisuke Goto (Freiburg), Koki Machida (Hoffenheim), Shuto Machino, Daiki Hashioka, and Zento Uno (Borussia Mönchengladbach), and Satoshi Tanaka (Schalke).
Since the German league started in 1963-64, a total of 48 Japanese players have played in the Bundesliga, which is claimed to be more than in any of the other top five European leagues.
The deal provides additional exposure in Japan for the Bundesliga after global subscription streaming service DAZN recently secured the main bulk of rights in that market for the next three seasons.
Through the 2025-26, 2026-27, and 2027-28 campaigns, DAZN has rights to cover all nine Bundesliga matches per game week, across all 34 rounds.
The new deal comes as the 18-team Bundesliga ramps up its overseas presence ahead of the 2026-27 season, having secured two major deals in the US on the back of that country co-hosting the FIFA 2026 World Cup.
The first deal announced was with Versant, the spin-off division of US media giant NBCUniversal (NBCU), which secured an exclusive five-season English-speaking rights agreement, running from 2026-27 through 2030-31.
The league then added Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo to its rights mix in the country, with the reported $10 million per year deal running for the next three Bundesliga seasons (2026-27 to 2028-29).
It also struck a deal with Zee Entertainment, the Indian media enterprise that only recently re-entered the sports market, covering the linear broadcast and digital streaming rights for the next five years.
German soccer in general is set to have an increased presence in Japan, with the U-Next streaming platform acquiring a slate of European soccer rights, including Germany’s DFB-Pokal cup competition, ahead of the 2026-27 season.
In a wide-ranging deal, U-Next will stream 20 preseason matches involving top European clubs, including Premier League giants Arsenal and Manchester City, Spain’s Real Madrid, Germany’s Bayern Munich, and Italy’s AC Milan.
The platform will also air preseason games featuring Japanese players, including Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton FC), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), and Ryunosuke Sato (Valencia), to boost the profile of the country’s national team players.
As part of its package of rights, U-Next has also secured rights to the DFB-Pokal, German soccer’s top knockout competition, which will see it stream select matches live from the first round in August through to the final in May 2027.
The matches aired by the platform will focus on “prestigious Bundesliga clubs and clubs with Japanese players.”
