The German men's soccer league, Bundesliga, has announced a partnership with five broadcasters across nine Eastern European markets. These deals will extend through the 2028-29 season and have been brokered by international sports marketing heavyweight, Infront.
The new agreements cover Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Albania, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Russia. The broadcasting partners for these markets are Setanta for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; Tring for Albania and Kosovo; Nova Sport for the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Digi for Romania; and Okko for Russia.
These deals represent extensions of existing partnerships with Setanta (which also covers 10 Eurasian markets), Nova Sport and Digi. However in Albania and Kosovo rights are currently held by Digitalb while in Russia Gazprom Media-owned Match TV is presently airing Bundesliga action.
Coverage details
These new contracts will cover all 612 games each season from both the Bundesliga as well as second-tier 2 Bundesliga. Additionally they include four post-season relegation playoff games along with the season-opening German Supercup. The coverage will commence from the 2025-26 campaign running through to the end of the 2028-29 season.
In light of recent events where Russia attacked Ukraine in February 2022 leading to an ongoing war that has lasted three years so far - proceeds from Russian media rights sales will continue to be donated towards humanitarian aid efforts.
Players from partner markets
Top-tier players from these partner markets include Patrik Schick and Matěj Kovář from Czech Republic who play for Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen. A significant number of players hailing from these European countries participate actively in this German competition which adds another layer of interest to these broadcast deals.
Peer Naubert, managing director and chief marketing officer at Bundesliga, said:
“Across Eastern Europe, there is a long history with German football, and the importance of those traditions continues today as we work together to tell the stories of the Bundesliga each week.”
For the next cycle, Bundesliga's domestic live rights will be split between pay-TV heavyweight Sky Deutschland and DAZN sports streaming service. The total value of these tie-ups (including rights for highlights and short clips) over the next four seasons is estimated to be $1.17 billion per campaign. Bundesliga also has deals running past next season in other markets such as Spain (DAZN), sub-Saharan Africa, Poland (Eleven Sports) and Hungary (Network4). More news regarding media rights in Israel where the league is currently being shown by Charlton is expected to be announced soon.
