The new pricing structure of the German pay-TV platform Premiere/Sky has caused much uproar amongst football fans in the country. Marketing of the new offer will start on July 4, when Premiere becomes Sky.
New subscribers to the live Bundesliga games will have to buy the entry level Sky Welt package at €16.90 monthly before they can subscribe to the live coverage of the 612 games in the first and second league. The total monthly costs to them will be €32.90. Existing subscribers will be able to hold on to their current price plan, which costs €19.99 a month.
The new pricing plan provides added value, according to a Premiere spokesperson speaking to the DPA press agency: “The football fans now have the opportunity to watch five Bundesliga games on the same day. This is a new dimension and creates an added value,”
German football fans now have an alternative to the Sky package: Deutsche Telekom has the IPTV rights to the live Bundesliga games. But people have to buy the basic broadband access and telephony bundle first before they can access the T-Entertain IPTV service. This will cost €59.90 monthly, including the Liga Total bouquet.
For VDL customers T-Entertain also offers all Bundesliga games in HD quality.
Deutsche Telekom also plans to offer a mobile TV version of Liga Total. According to German press reports, the telecom operator will offer a free 12 months subscription to new customers buying the new iPhone.
