Bandeirantes, the Brazilian media group with free-to-air and pay-TV channels, is said to be vying with pay-television broadcaster ESPN to acquire the Brazilian broadcast rights to the Bundesliga, the top division of German club football.
ESPN is said to be keen to renew a deal which expired at the end of the 2019-20 season, with the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign due to kick off on September 18.
However, Bandeirantes has opened talks over a contract that could see the Bundesliga granted free-to-air exposure on its flagship Band channel, reports UOL. Band is said to have put forward a proposal for one match per round to be shown free-to-air, with the remainder offered via pay-television channel BandSports.
Fox Sports, which has merged with ESPN in Brazil, acquired the Bundesliga rights in Brazil from 2015-16 to 2019-20 as part of an 80-territory deal across various international territories.
Bundesliga International, the international rights sales arm of the German Football League (DFL) is said to be seeking a long-term deal for a new Brazilian contract.
Earlier this month, it was reported that Band was in advanced negotiations with the IMG agency to acquire the rights to the Italian Serie A league under a similar model proposed for the Bundesliga.