Media : RTL waives right to broadcast 2014 World Cup in Germany

German pay-TV group RTL have decided not to acquire broadcast rights in Germany for the 2014 World Cup, the company said on the 29/10/2013.

The rights to broadcast the entire competition are held by the public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, who are still currently negotiating the number of matches that each will broadcast. The cost of the acquisition is estimated between €150 and €180 million.

SportA, the agency for media sports rights owned by ARD and ZDF, approached German sports pay-TV channels to sublicense the rights for the 2014 World Cup, but Sat.1, Sky Sports and RTL declined the offer. "We are already well-placed, having acquired the rights to broadcast the qualifiers for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup," said RTL to daily newspaper, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, on the 29/10/2013.

RTL screened nine games of the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany, and eight games of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Nevertheless, the channels that do not have broadcasting rights can get access to image rights from FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association). This allows them to…