The German Football League (DFL) has rejected a report stating that 2.Bundesliga clubs stand to receive a cut in their share of the revenue from the new rights deal for the top two divisions of domestic football.
German sports magazine Kicker said that 2.Bundesliga clubs will receive less than their current 20 per cent share from domestic broadcast rights, from the 2017-18 season. Currently, the top-tier Bundesliga receives 80 per cent of the revenue, with the second division sharing the remainder.
Responding to the report, a DFL spokesman told German news agency SID: “The presentation lacks any foundation, neither in its basic orientation nor in the details of the facts.”
The DFL will reportedly unveil its new revenue distribution model on November 24. In September, commercial broadcaster RTL and pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland acquired the two remaining rights packages on offer for the next four-season cycle, from 2017-18 to 2020-21.
RTL snapped up Monday evening free-to-air highlights of all 1.Bundesliga top-tier and 2.Bundesliga second-tier games.
Sky Deutschland will show highlights of the 2.Bundesliga on free-to-air television on Friday evenings between 10.30pm and midnight and Sundays between 7.30pm and 9.15pm. The coverage will be shown on Sky Sport News HD, which will switch to become a free-to-air channel in December.
The two packages were not awarded in the original auction as bids did not meet the reserve prices set by the DFL.
The values of the agreements were not disclosed. The total value of the deals covering the Bundesliga, 2.Bundesliga and Supercup knockout competition over the four seasons was €4.64bn ($5.12bn) before the latest packages were awarded.
Sky Deutschland will already have rights to 572 live matches per season. RTL's agreement means it will cover the Bundesliga for the first time since 1992.