The German Football League (DFB) has seen a big revenue increase after extending several media deals in the next rights cycle.
Sky Deutschland, DAZN and RTL are the regular media partners of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, with Sky and DAZN holding the largest share of live matches.
Pay TV rights, meanwhile, are split between the broadcaster and the OTT platform. Sky will carry Friday and Saturday games, including the evening’s main match, as well as all Bundesliga 2 matches.
DAZN will show Saturday games and all Bundesliga matches on Sunday in Germany, as well as in the other markets of Austria, East Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol and Switzerland.
The cycles cover the period from the 2025/26 season to the 2028/29 season. The DFB claims that the competition revenue from this cycle is 2% higher than from the application, which amounts to a total of €4.5 billion and €1.1 billion per season.
DFB Vice President, Marc Lenz, commented: “The financial security achieved with this result is a key foundation for the positive development of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.
“From this position of strength, we must tackle the economic, sporting and political challenges – and continue to develop our leagues together with the 36 clubs and make them fit for the future.”
The last broadcaster included in this rights cycle is RTL. The company received additional paid rights to the highlights of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, as well as the free broadcast of the Saturday evening match.
The remaining rights were divided between several rights holders. On Saturday 1, the first matches of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 season, the playoffs for the right to remain in the league and the Super Cup will light up.
The free highlights broadcasts were divided between different conditions. ARD presents the highlights of the Friday, Saturday and Sunday matches of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2.
ZDF retains the rights to highlights of the Saturday evening matches of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 and the first highlights broadcast of the matches. Sport1 will show highlights of the Friday and Saturday games, which will be broadcast on Sunday morning.
“The result of the tender underlines the unbroken popularity of German professional football, despite economically challenging times,” added DFB CEO, Steffen Merkel.
“Trust and unity within the league association have paid off. At the end of an intensive process, a very good and comprehensively secured financial result has now been achieved.
“The clubs now have planning security at a high financial level for another four years. For the fans, our future partners in both the pay and free-to-air markets will provide a high degree of consistency.
“We would like to thank all media partners for their strong commitment to our leagues. Together, the clubs and the DFL will justify this trust in the coming years by working even more closely with our partners and providing them with the best possible support in achieving their goals.”
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