Setanta Sports, the pay-TV broadcaster, has extended its rights deal with German men’s soccer’s top-tier Bundesliga matches. This expansion signifies an extension in ten Eurasian markets and a new deal in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
Setanta has renewed rights from 2024-25 to the end of 2028-29 in ten Eurasian countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The network has been broadcasting German soccer's top tier in these markets since 2015. The last extension was announced back in October 2020.
Peer Naubert, chief marketing officer at Bundesliga International, said:
“Our partnership with Setanta Sports is already well-established and is built on a strong foundation of mutual trust and a shared vision: to deliver a world-class product to fans around the world. Furthermore, we are delighted that this extension takes us beyond 10 years of working together in a region that we have a very close and special relationship with.”
Setanta also snatched rights from Viaplay for 2024/25 season
In addition to the renewal of rights in Eurasia countries; Setanta has also acquired rights for three Baltic markets: Latvia, Lithuania, and, Estonia specifically for the season of 2024-25. Previously these regions were under Viaplay's jurisdiction which is now retracting into its key Nordic markets due to financial difficulties.
Viaplay had initially secured a deal extending their Baltic Bundesliga rights until 2029 but confirmed their exit from Baltics by mid-2025. This one-season swoop by Setanta is likely a placeholder while the league searches for a more permanent home post that period.
This addition represents a significant boost for Setanta which only launched operations in Baltics as recently as 2022. Alongside covering Germany's top league games; Setanta will also broadcast second-tier Bundesliga matches across all thirteen countries involved under this agreement.
The deal was facilitated by Bundesliga International - global commercial arm responsible for managing overseas broadcasting deals on behalf of Germany's premier football league comprising eighteen teams.
The search for domestic rights is still on for DFL
The league is now nearing the end of its sales process for the next international media rights cycle. The DFL league body has begun selecting its domestic broadcast partners for the next cycle, which begins in 2025-26 for the German market.
In late January, a ban on those rights being sold to only one buyer was lifted. November saw Setanta Sports enter into an exclusive partnership with streaming giant Netflix in thirteen countries. This deal involves a new joint bundle offering called Fan Pack, allowing subscribers to access both Setanta Sports and Netflix content with one subscription fee.
This expansion of Setanta's reach into new markets and partnerships with giants like Netflix indicates an exciting future for sports fans across these regions.
