Bundesliga International Media Rights: YouTube, DTC & Strategy
Germany’s top-flight soccer league prides itself on its passionate fan culture and electric matchday atmosphere. Now, the Bundesliga wants too make more noise globally as it brings ‘football as it’s meant to be’ to fans around the world who may never set foot in one of its stadiums.
Bundesliga international operates a multi-dimensional marketing approach to reach fans around the world, whether it’s through broadcast deals, bespoke content creation or even collaborating wiht other leagues like the National Football League (NFL). From academy programmes to content partnerships and the Bundesliga creator network, this ensures fans around the world have regular touchpoints to the league.
A bigger global fanbase ultimately means more revenue. Although domestic media rights income increased in the most recent cycle, the league still has untapped potential outside Germany.
“While we continue to grow our global fanbase,- the league and our clubs – need to be even more vocal and active in the sense of marketing, PR, and being close to the broadcasters,” Robin Austermann, executive vice president at Bundesliga Americas, tells SportsPro. “That’s why we are set up as part of the overall DFL picture, with marketing, PR, content, and also teams on the ground across seven key territories.”
The Bundesliga hasn’t been afraid to experiment with its international media rights to maximise reach and revenue (Image credit: Getty images)
A market-by-market approach
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The Bundesliga prides itself on undertaking extensive research into each contry when picking its partners, identifying key trends and analysing market data before applying learned insights to its approach.
In Brazil for example, it noted that pay-TV penetration was just eight per cent, meaning a cable broadcaster woudl not reach the majority of the population. Thus, among others, the league struck deals with popular YouTube channels Cazé TV and Canal Goat, taking the plunge before other leagues adopted a similar approach.
All in all, the competition has seven broadcast partners in that market. this might seem a lot,but the strategy is working well so far,with the Bundesliga generating up to five million live views each matchday,becoming the most-watched European league in Brazil in the process. Originally set up to maximise reach, the league claims the move is also delivering increasingly remarkable revenues.
However, this tactic might not be as effective in Europe, where pay-TV channels are considerably more popular and where the rights landscape is fundamentally different.
“We need to look into fan growth to build even more fans in a certain territory,” says Austermann. “Afterwards, this can translate it into broadcast revenues. Even then, the media rights awarding can be seen as part of the overall marketing mix as we identify and introduce new approaches.”
Finding a “really compelling” mix of UK partners
There is perhaps no better example of that strategy coming to life than the Bundesliga’s new broadcast partnerships in the UK.
Bundesliga launches Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service in Select Markets
The Bundesliga, Germany’s top professional football league, launched a direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service on January 19, 2024, in five european countries: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada. the service offers live coverage of all Bundesliga matches, and also on-demand content. While a match between Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg on January 27, 2024, was not available due to scheduling conflicts, Bundesliga executive director Robert Klein stated the league remains “in a position to broadcast all of the other [games] and to make them available to the fans.” The Bundesliga is currently evaluating potential expansion of the DTC service to other markets, but no firm decisions have been made. According to Bundesliga executive director Andreas Austermann, expansion will depend on market-specific factors. “It’s really too early to tell, because we are looking at all the options in every market, and then we see the possibility,” Austermann said. he emphasized that the DTC service is intended to complement existing broadcast partnerships, and will only be expanded where it offers a benefit to the league. The United states is a key priority for the Bundesliga, especially as its current broadcast partnership with ESPN expires at the end of the 2025/26 season. Negotiations with ESPN are ongoing. The Bundesliga is actively working to enhance its appeal to potential broadcasters by improving on-site production and engaging fans through weekly newsletters. This effort is part of a broader partnership with Relevent Sports Group to grow the Bundesliga’s presence in the Americas,announced in November 2023. Read more about the Relevent Sports Group partnership here.Expansion Plans Remain Undecided
Focus on the US Market