German Football League (DFL) chief executive Christian Seifert has said he expects the next set of broadcast rights for the Bundesliga to be awarded before the Uefa Euro 2016 national team tournament, despite the threat of the Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt, intervening in the process.
The next four-season cycle of rights to the top division of German football, from 2017-18 to 2020-21, are set to go to market amid reports the Bundeskartellamt wants to introduce a ‘no single buyer’ rule.
The rule would prevent a single broadcaster from acquiring rights to all Bundesliga games, with pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland the dominant rights-holder in the current cycle.
With Euro 2016 set to commence in France on June 10, Seifert said: “I assume that we complete the tender before the European Championships. So the end of May or early June. That would be about six weeks later than last time and therefore no big deal.”
Seifert added that the DFL is currently in talks with authorities over the Bundeskartellamt’s claims. He added, according to German news agency DPA: “For the German audience, we have a comfortable situation. If through competition a second provider emerges, this can create a future where those without a subscription would no longer see games.”