Bundesliga International is using the UK and Ireland as a proving ground for a more fragmented distribution strategy that blends pay-TV, FAST, free-to-air digital and pay-per-view in a bid to grow awareness beyond its traditional fan base.
The approach was first unveiled in August 2025, when the league renewed with Sky, added BBC Sport and Prime Video, and introduced broader digital distribution. In December 2025 it also launched its first FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus in the UK and Irelandnin association with WURL.
Speaking at Stream TV Europe in Lisbon, Bundesliga International’s Henning Brinkmann said the league had moved away in some markets from the “traditional sports rights approach” of relying on a single pay-TV partner. “When we came to our renewal discussions for the UK specifically last year, we found that that market is at a very interesting stage at the moment,” he said. “It was important for us to keep Sky as a partner because of the fandom that they can bring… But we saw that there’s an opportunity for us to fundamentally grow as well.”
That strategy now sees Bundesliga matches and content split across several outlets. Sky remains involved, BBC iPlayer carries Friday night matches free-to-air, Prime Video has Sunday matches on a pay-per-view basis, and Samsung TV Plus carries a dedicated Bundesliga FAST channel with live Friday Bundesliga matches and weekend Bundesliga 2 coverage. The league has also used YouTube and creator partnerships to widen reach.
Brinkmann described the UK model as “a very sophisticated distribution model”, adding: “On a Friday evening we have Bundesliga live now on the Samsung FAST channel, but also across currently three different YouTube channels, our own Bundesliga channel… We’re also working together with two content creators that are doing watch alongs for Bundesliga, pulling in new audience and raising awareness for the Bundesliga.” He added: “Saturday evening stays indeed with Sky… And then for Sunday we’re also going into a new model with Amazon on the pay-per-view front.”
The FAST component has become a central part of that strategy. Samsung TV Plus’ Berangere Degni-Reze said sport has become one of the platform’s strongest categories for both audiences and monetisation, with “over 180 sport channel in the region” and about 80% of those including live content. “Live sport is kind of redefining what is sport on streaming,” she said.
For Bundesliga, the attraction was not just another outlet, but the chance to bring live football into a free ad-supported environment with significant promotional backing. Brinkmann said the league had been considering FAST for some time, but had not found the right scenario until the UK. “We launched the first Bundesliga FAST channel in the UK,” he said, “and then again, not only with archive content, but already kind of FAST-following the trend there and put live on Friday evening match for Bundesliga and also across the weekend for matches for Bundesliga 2.”
According to Samsung, the early results have been encouraging. Degni-Reze said the Bundesliga service is “constantly in the top three sports channels within the Samsung TV ecosystem in the UK and Ireland” and “constantly in the top 25 across all channels”, although she declined to provide specific audience figures. “There is a spike for the live matches, no doubt about that,” she said. “But the interesting thing for us is indeed to think about this 24/7 perspective.”
That means using shoulder programming and archive material to sustain viewing outside the live window. “Highlights and preview shows to a particular match day,” said Brinkmann, sit alongside library content such as “best derbies that were ever played”. Samsung said viewers are also responding to behind-the-scenes material, interviews and club-focused content beyond the live rights window.
Advertising is another key part of the experiment. Samsung said live sport is giving brands a new way to buy premium inventory on connected TV. Degni-Reze said agencies were responding positively to “a new way to buy a live sport, programmatic buying, which is very new for that space”. She added that the next step would be more real-time data around matches and context to lift monetisation further.
Brinkmann said the UK initiative should not be seen as a template that can simply be copied market by market. “Every market is different,” he said. “As I said at the beginning, we have this number of positive impacts for that decision for the UK specifically, that might look completely different in other parts of the world.” Still, he made clear that the league sees the UK launch as a validation case for future negotiations elsewhere.
The broader aim is to balance short-term rights revenue with longer-term brand building. Brinkmann pointed to other markets where hybrid free-to-view strategies have delivered audience gains over time. “In Brazil, in South Africa, we have, over the last about five to six years, actually doubled the Bundesliga interest, according to our research,” he said.
