Bundesliga TV rights (2021-2025): German Competition Authority approves call for tenders

The Bundeskartellamt (equivalent to the German Competition Authority) has approved the call for tenders for the domestic broadcasting rights of the Bundesliga, the 2.Bundesliga and the DFL-Supercup (2021-2025 cycle) on 20/03/2020. "It was important to ensure that no single bidder can exclusively acquire all live rights and act as a monopolist in providing coverage for viewers," said Andreas Mundt, president of the German body.

The awarding of the rights is planned for May 2020, despite the suspension of the German leagues, due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, since 13/03/2020. "We intend to continue the process, but to be honest, this is not the most pressing issue for me," said Christian Seifert, CEO of the DFL, on 17/03/2020.

The tender consists of seven lots for live matches as well as seven lots for highlights and video clips. The seven lots for live matches are:

A: Pay-TV: 166 Bundesliga matches (35 multiplexes) on Saturday at 15:30 CET, or Tuesday/Wednesday at 20:30.
B: Pay-TV: 170 individual Bundesliga matches, Saturday at 15:30, or Tuesday/Wednesday at 18:30 or…