Germany

DAZN, the OTT service operated by digital sports media company Perform, has acquired live rights for Major League Baseball games in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights to the Virtuellen Bundesliga (VBL), the official esports competition of the German Football League (DFL).

The German Football League (DFL), organising body of the top two divisions of the domestic game, has revealed plans to replace its existing DFL Sports Enterprises entity with a new body entitled Bundesliga International.

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has acquired rights to the 2017 World Games multi-sport event in a deal the International World Games Association hopes will provide a template for other European markets.

The German Football League (DFL) has entered into a strategic partnership with Baidu, through which the top-tier Bundesliga competition will have an official presence on the network of the Chinese web services company.

German media company Constantin Medien has extended the contract of its chief executive, Fred Kogel, until December 31, 2018.

DAZN chief executive James Rushton has apologised for the failings of the service during the opening round of the J.League football season in Japan, and said it will be “very aggressive” in pursuing key sports rights in Germany.

German Bundesliga football club Bayern Munich has confirmed it will launch its own linear television channel, FC Bayern.tv, on February 27.

German pay-television broadcaster Sportdigital has acquired rights for football’s Chinese Super League.

Servus TV, the commercial broadcaster owned by the Red Bull Media House division of Red Bull, has acquired rights for the Superbike World Championship.

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports Network has acquired rights in Poland for the Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga, the top two divisions of club football in Germany.

The Infront Sports & Media agency has secured a series of rights deals for upcoming seasons of the Champions Hockey League pan-European ice hockey club competition.

Telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom and Bayern Munich are set to collaborate on the launch of a linear television channel that will be dedicated to the German Bundesliga football club.

The German football federation earned an increase of almost 50 per cent in the value of its domestic third-tier 3. Liga rights following deals with Deutsche Telekom and ARD last week.

German sports broadcaster Sport1 has renewed a rights deal for the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in its home country, along with Austria and Switzerland.

After two days at the Spobis conference in Düsseldorf it is clear the German media-rights industry is waiting on the outcome of two key TV deals which will be agreed in the next six months.