The online video channel of German Bundesliga football club Borussia Dortmund is being investigated by the Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) after it live streamed a friendly game, according to the HorizonT website.
The BVB Total platform provided live streaming of Dortmund’s game against Swiss club FC Basel on July 10.
BVB Total mainly provides highlights of games, along with interviews and press conferences. If regional regulator LfM determines that the live streaming of the friendly game constituted a broadcast offering, Dortmund would have to apply for a broadcasting licence.
A spokesman for the German Commission for Licensing and Supervision (ZAK) said: “On-demand services are not broadcasting, but if a game is broadcast live, then it is a broadcast offer.”
Dortmund’s Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich was forced to apply for a broadcast licence allowing its FCB TV platform to provide live broadcasts. The licence was granted by ZAK in June 2012.