Cartel office set to form ‘no single buyer’ rule for Bundesliga rights

Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, the Bundeskartellamt, wants to introduce a ‘no single buyer’ rule in the next cycle of rights for the Bundesliga, the top division of Germany football, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper.

Earlier this month it was reported that competitors of German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland, the dominant Bundesliga rights-holder in the current cycle, were lobbying the Bundeskartellamt to introduce the rule.

The rule would prevent a single broadcaster from acquiring rights to all Bundesliga games, the newspaper said.

A tender for the next four-season cycle, from 2017-18 to 2020-21, is expected to launch by the middle of 2016.