The German Bundesliga may be going down a similar path as the EFL because of its partnership with American media agency Relevent. Currently, the German top flight has a rights deal with ESPN through the end of the 2025/26 season. Until then, all games are available on ESPN+ with a small handful of games also on either ESPN or ABC. In September 2024, the Bundesliga signed on with Relevent to help broker its next media rights deal. That agreement could provide clues as to where the Bundesliga rights go next.
The next Bundesliga TV rights in the United States cycle starts with the 2026/27 season. Therefore, the German division is in its penultimate year of the rights deal with ESPN. The two have been working with one another since the 2020/21 campaign, the first for the Bundesliga on ESPN’s family of networks. At the time, ESPN also had the rights to EFL media rights, including the Championship and EFL Cup. However, Relevent helped broker a new deal between the EFL and CBS which started ahead with the 2024/25 season.
The Bundesliga could follow suit, and there are several trends to point to the league finding a new home. For one, ESPN has gradually moved away from soccer rights since former ESPN President John Skipper left the company. Skipper, who was a noted soccer fan, helped build up the soccer rights portfolio within ESPN that, at one time, included the World Cup, Premier League, LaLiga, the Bundesliga, and the EFL, among others.
Relevent has an existing relationship with CBS, as seen with the deal involving the EFL. That could help get a foot in the door for the Bundesliga with what has become arguably the most important broadcaster for American soccer fans. German teams already feature on CBS via UEFA club competitions. Adding one of the most competitive domestic leagues in Europe would fit CBS’s aims.
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Author : Kyle Fansler
Publish date : 2024-10-16 17:41:27
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The post Bundesliga can follow EFL in ditching ESPN in next media rights first appeared on Foot & Soccer.
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Author : footsoccer
Publish date : 2024-10-16 22:17:19
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