German football association DFL has invited interested parties to take part in the tender of the media rights to the matches of the first and second division Bundesliga, the Supercup and relegation play-offs for the four seasons from 2021/22 to 2024/25 covering Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and South Tyrol.
The tender will comprise the following rights: Video rights for live and delayed broadcast via satellite, DTT, cable/IPTV, web and mobile infrastructures. Audio rights, for example for live radio broadcasts, including radio, web and mobile. Rights for digital advertising and information systems, for example rights to broadcast video via outdoor digital advertising spaces in public (‘digital out-of-home’).
All companies interested in acquiring media rights can register to participate in the invitation to the tender from today. The registration form is available on the DFL website.
To kick off the invitation to tender, DFL will send the registered companies a ‘procedure letter’ no earlier than February 27, 2020. The letter will include the schedule and procedural rules for the implementation of the invitation to tender, especially the deadlines and criteria for admission to the invitation to tender, the procedure for submitting bids, and the criteria and procedure for the allocation of the advertised rights packages.
Currently, the German Federal Cartel Office is still performing the final review of the details of the allocation mechanisms. Once the anti-trust authority has completed its review of the marketing model underlying the invitation to tender, DFL will send all admitted companies the invitation to tender documentation, most likely in March, which will also include the final structure of the rights packages and the other contractual provisions. The allocation decision is expected to be made in May.
Sky Deutschland and Discovery/Eurosport won the last rights tender, but Eurosport has meanwhile sublicensed its rights package to DAZN. After losing the UEFA Champions League rights to DAZN and Amazon, Sky is now under strong pressure.
