German football league looking at rights split

The German Football League (DFL) is mulling a plan to break up the TV rights to Bundesliga football into three packages, according to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

The paper has reported that the DFL is considering a plan to offer an ‘A’ package including a game of the week on Saturday evenings, some afternoon games and first pick of one or two other games, and the main Sunday evening game. A second ‘B’ package would include Sunday afternoon games and a non-selected Saturday game, while a ‘C’ package would include Friday games and a possible third Sunday game. These packs would be offered separately for linear TV, IPTV and the web.

While pay TV operator Sky Deutschland is seen as the most likely buyer for the rights (with the likelihood of IPTV rights going to Deutsche Telekom), the proposal raises the possibility of German viewers being forced to acquire a separate decoder for some games if the rights are split between different buyers.