German pay-television broadcaster Sky Deutschland and Berlin-based digital platform Onefootball have unveiled details of their pay-per-view streaming agreement, with live games from the second-tier 2. Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal to be offered.
Sky, faced with increasing competition from new digital rivals, is making the games available on a pay-per-view basis for the first time after agreeing a revenue-share deal with Onefootball.
The pay-per-view cost for matches from the 2. Bundesliga and DFB Pokal knockout clubs competition will start at €3.99 ($4.40) per game.
Matches from the top-tier Bundesliga are not included in the offering at present and neither Sky nor Onefootball have indicated when such a service might be added.
Sky’s highlights from the English Premier League will be available to Onefootball customers, however, from 1:00am (CET) on the day following each game.
Onefootball, which was founded in 2008 and employs 200 staff at its Berlin headquarters, has promised that the Sky live streams can be accessed “in 20 seconds, with just three clicks”. The pay-per-view billing is handled by the Apple iTunes or Google Play store.
Sky Deutschland holds live rights to the top-tier Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga from 2017-18 to 2020-21 in a deal worth an average of €876m per season.
As the rights-holders to various other top-tier football competitions in Europe, including the Uefa Champions League and Premier League, Sky is understood to have considered the addition of other live rights to the Onefootball service. However, approval would be required from the rights-holders in question. Onefootball is keen to add more live coverage to its offering as and when the rights situation allows.
Commenting on the tie-up with Onefootball, Hans Gabbe, Sky Deutschland’s senior vice-president of sports rights and commercialisation, said: “With this innovative form of distribution, we once again underline our digital competence and are able to reach young and price-sensitive football fans, whom we can introduce to the Sky brand and our first-class football broadcasts, right where they inform themselves about football.”
Lucas von Cranach, Onefootball’s chief executive and founder, remarked: “For us as a company, streaming live football in our app is the next big step to making Onefootball the ultimate football platform. We are the first company worldwide to offer football matches via pay-per-view in an app in partnership with well-known rights holders such as Sky Deutschland.”
“This is our response to the ever-changing media landscape and the user behaviour of modern fans in the digital age. The entry into the German home market is particularly important for us, as this is our second biggest audience worldwide after Brazil.”
Having initially made its name as a provider of football news, data and statistics, Onefootball has been branching out into the live streaming sector.
Onefootball already has a similar partnership with subscription broadcaster Eleven Sports in the UK, offering LaLiga games on a pay-per-view basis. It also offered games from the third-tier Serie C in Italy.