Theo Zwanziger, the president of the German football federation, the Deutscher Fussball-Bund, said he was disappointed that public-service broadcasters ARD and ZDF did not agree a deal to show the women’s national team games at the Algarve Cup invitational tournament.
“The ratings for a broadcast [of an Algarve Cup game involving Germany] between 6pm and 8pm would surely have been better than many a show that is broadcast on [ARD and ZDF],” Zwanziger said.
ARD and ZDF “showed no great interest” in acquiring the rights, according to the Bild newspaper.
Zwanziger said he understood some of the broadcasters’ reluctance to cover the games, because of the “lack of atmosphere” at the matches, which often attract live attendances of only a few hundred.
Pan-European broadcaster Eurosport, the previous rights-holder of the tournament in Germany, had talks about buying the rights with the tournament organisers but could not agree on a fee.
The 2011 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which was staged in Germany, generated huge audiences for ARD and ZDF. The broadcasters split coverage of Germany’s national team games and attracted average audiences of more than 14 million for the matches.
The Algarve Cup, which is held in Portugal, starts today (February 28) and will conclude on March 7.