Its hold on German soccer dates back to the early 1990s, when predecessor Premiere showed the first games live. The company still broadcasts the most Bundesliga games. Sky’s early bet on soccer broadcasts’ rising popularity - it has held live Bundesliga rights for more than a decade now - has paid off by making it Germany’s dominant pay-TV provider. Sky usually locks customers into longer-term contracts. The outcome is a boon to DAZN, which aims to be the so-called Netflix of sports and is already sub-licensing some Champions League matches from Sky in Germany.ĭAZN, whose service can be canceled monthly, was hit when the pandemic halted sports around the world earlier this year. Fans remain banned from arenas and there’s concern that a second wave of infections could once again put an end to matches. While the Bundesliga was the first major competition to return in mid-May, the lower proceeds reflect the risks linked to live contact sports while coronavirus is still widespread. Amazon didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment. Representatives for DAZN, Sky’s German unit and Germany’s DFL soccer league declined to comment. tech giant bought access to about a dozen matches for the Bundesliga’s restart last month, and last year acquired rights to show some European Champions League soccer games in Germany, chiseling away at Sky’s dominance of the coveted competition that features top clubs including Real Madrid and Liverpool. That’s somewhat of a surprise given that the U.S. The proceeds are slightly lower than in 2016, when the Bundesliga raised 4.64 billion euros (US$5.2 billion), the person said.Īmazon, seen by many as a major contender, came up empty, the person said.

While Sky won the coveted rights package for the Saturday afternoon games in the auction that concluded last week, its total number of matches will drop from the current season, said the person, who asked not to be named because the decision won’t be announced until Monday. to secure the rights to stream Bundesliga matches on Friday and Sunday from next year through mid-2025, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The startup backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik warded off rivals including Inc.

DAZN Group increased its share of premium soccer broadcasting rights in Germany, bolstering its bid to unseat Comcast Corp.’s Sky Plc as the main provider of sports in Europe’s largest economy.

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