Fifteen bidding companies were approved by the board of the Deutsche Fussball Liga, the German football league, to take part in the full tender for its next cycle of the domestic rights, from 2013-14 to 2016-17.
The board whittled the shortlist of approved bidders down from the 45 that had registered an interest.
Last week the league released documents outlining the rights packages that would be on offer. The full tender documentation has not yet been sent out.
The shortlisted “will receive the tender documentation in the next few days,” the league said. “After that… in the coming weeks there will be briefings with the DFL before [the deadline for the first round of bids on] April 2.”
The league said that it had assessed the companies based on guidelines set by the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s competition regulator. The DFL also said it had taken into consideration each company’s experience, credit rating and potential audience reach.
The approved bidders have had to each pay a fee of at least €100,000 ($132,000) to take part in the process, according to the Werben & Verkaufen media news website.
The rights for the Bundesliga 1 and 2, the top two-tiers of Germany’s professional football league, have been split into 19 packages, covering cable, satellite, free-to-air, IPTV, internet and mobile rights.