German media company Axel Springer is developing a streaming platform together with Christian Seifert, the long-time managing director of German football league DFL.
The service, which is scheduled to launch in autumn 2023, aims to show sports beyond football, for example handball, basketball and ice hockey. Sports fans in Germany will be able to access the service directly via web – or via existing platforms. The brand name is to be announced in the course of the year.
Founder of the start-up is Christian Seifert, and Axel Springer has a majority holding in the new company. Seifert also maintains a significant holding and will act as managing partner. The management team will also have a CEO and COO.
“Germany is a nation of sports fans, millions of whom are enthusiastic about types of sports beyond soccer. We want to offer this large sports community a new home,” said Christian Seifert, founder and managing partner of the new company. “We will be offering attractive cooperation opportunities to numerous sports leagues and associations.”
Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer added: “Sport belongs to Axel Springer, and is an area we have committed to invest in more and achieve more growth. We are now bringing together the strengths of Axel Springer as a media and tech company with the outstanding experience and proven capabilities of Christian Seifert. Our joint media enterprise offers our future partners a unique platform.”