BT to show all Bundesliga matches for remainder of season

UK pay-television broadcaster BT Sport will show every remaining German Bundesliga match this season as the league gears up for its return this weekend.

BT will broadcast live all nine matches from the first match day of the restarted season (match day 26). These matches will be shown across BT Sports’ three linear channels as well as its overflow channels.

However, BT is unable, as yet, to commit to broadcasting all matches live from matchday 27 to the end of the season.

It told SportBusiness today (Wednesday): “The Bundesliga have not yet announced kick-off times for subsequent matchweeks, and once they do, we will decide our coverage plans for other games.”

BT Sport will also show at least one match per matchday for the remainder of the season in 4K ultra-HD on its BT Sport Ultimate channel. The selected UHD match this weekend is Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Mönchengladbach.

BT holds the exclusive rights to the Bundesliga in the UK and Ireland in a deal covering four seasons from 2017-18 to 2020-21.

The deal with the DFL Sports Enterprises arm of the German Football League (DFL) also includes rights for the annual DFL Supercup matches, second-tier 2. Bundesliga games, plus reviews and highlights shows.

The Bundesliga has been suspended since mid-March due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its return means BT looks unlikely to offer a third month of free sports programming to its subscribers. The broadcaster had planned to extend the offer if there was no live football in June.