Frankfurt (dpa) – The German Football League (DFL) on Tuesday opened a tender for domestic Bundesliga broadcast rights 2017-2021, seeking to generate more than 1 billion euros (1.14 billion dollars) per season with the help of additional Sunday games and Monday kick-offs.
A total 17 packages are available, and the German cartel office has ordered that live rights for all games can no longer be held by one broadcaster, which will end the monopoly of pay TV network Sky.
Leading clubs like Bayern Munich and the DFL want to considerably raise the TV income which is currently at 748 million euros per season for the Bundesliga and second division from German and international rights – in order to remain competitive with other leagues in England and elsewhere.
«Professional football needs a lot of money. We enter the tender in good spirits because it is one of the most attractive media rights in Germany and one of the most attractive in the world,» DFL managing director Christian Seifert said.
The DFL expects to generate 1.1 to 1.5 billion euros per season, and aims to finalize the deals in early June before the start of Euro 2016.
The new rights will include five Monday kick-offs per season and a third Sunday game on five other weekends for a maximum six different kick-off times for the nine games per round. The Bundesliga also has a Friday night game, the traditional Saturday afternoon slot, one Saturday evening game and two Sunday games.
Fans have voiced strong opposition against the Monday games, but Seifert, while understanding their concern, insisted that «the rights distribution takes priority.»
