In a recent judicial ruling, DAZN emerges victorious in its dispute concerning Bundesliga broadcasting rights.
Streaming service DAZN comes out on top after settling disputes in arbitration with the German Football League (DFL). The published decision from the arbitration hearing now demands that the DFL conducts a rerun of the questionable partial auction for media rights bundle B.
In the middle of April, the DFL delayed the auction of German-language media rights for the four seasons starting from 2025/26 to 2028/29 due to disagreements with DAZN regarding Sky's right to broadcast live events up until the end of the current campaign. The bone of contention lies in media rights bundle B, which encompasses Saturday afternoon games at 3:30 PM, individual Friday night matches, and relegation playoffs (totaling 196 games per season).
DAZN argues that they faced discrimination when their bid failed to secure approval, despite offering the most financially appealing and compelling proposal. DAZN's bid supposedly amounted to around 400 million euros per season, amounting to a total of 1.6 billion euros. The DFL, however, rejected DAZN's financial guarantees, leading to the package being granted to Sky even though their offer was lower. This resulted in DAZN filing for arbitration.
Despite the conflict resolving in favor of DAZN in arbitration, they remain disappointed about missing out on broadcasting Soccer matches due to the initial rejection of their bid. Regardless of the decision, the future of Soccer viewing in Germany remains tied to the broadcasting agreements between DAZN, Sky, and the DFL.
