Days after agreeing a US broadcast deal with NBC spin-off Versant, German soccer’s Bundesliga has confirmed the addition of Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo to its rights mix in the country.
The deal, which is reportedly valued at around $10 million per year, will run for the next three Bundesliga seasons (through 2028-29).
Over 100 of the 306 Bundesliga matches each season through the deal will be broadcast on the Telemundo and Universo linear networks.
Additionally, all 306 of those matches will be streamed on NBC’s Peacock OTT service, illustrating the importance of streaming viewership to NBC's commercial model going forward.
This directly follows the announcement earlier this week that English-language rights would be going to Versant on a five-year deal, with the USA Sports linear network and the Fandango streaming service centrally positioned going forward.
Speaking on the announcement Robin Austermann, executive vice president at the Bundesliga Americas division, said: “These partnerships with USA Sports and Telemundo mark the next phase of our strategy, combining outstanding distribution with significant commercial opportunity and bringing the Bundesliga closer to more fans across the United States than ever before.
“We are excited to work with ambitious partners who are helping shape the future of sports media. Together, Versant and Telemundo will strengthen the Bundesliga’s presence across English and Spanish, linear television and streaming, helping us reach fans wherever they choose to engage with the league.”
Both of these deal were negotiated with the support of Relevent Sports, the global sports and media rights company.
In 2024, Relevent agreed a long-term strategic partnership with the Bundesliga to expand its commercial activities in the Americas region.
A key aspect of the tie-up included Relevent marketing the media rights to Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 matches across the Americas from the start of the 2026-27 season and over several rights cycles. This is based on a mutually agreed strategy and joint sales approach.
The Americas is a major target region for the Bundesliga, which has succeeded in growing its presence in the region over the past few years, evidenced by the league’s Spanish-language Instagram and TikTok accounts, which boast a combined follower count of over 548,500.
Over the past five years, the Bundesliga claims that its fanbase in the US has grown by 43%.
Telemundo will be hoping that fanbase can help it capitalize on the strong viewership gains it has made across the FIFA World Cup 2026, for which it holds Spanish-language rights.
In all, nine players from the US currently ply their trade in the Bundesliga, including national team stalwarts Malik Tillman at Bayer Leverkusen and Giovanni Reyna at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Although no Mexican players currently play in the Bundesliga, in past years, high-profile footballers from the region, such as Mexico legends Javier Hernandez (Bayer 04 Leverkusen) and Pavel Pardo (VfB Stuttgart), have appeared in the competition.
