Fox picks up Bundesliga Media Rights

[psychotrope]

According to news reports posted yesterday from both Fox Sports and the DFL (German football association), 21st Century Fox has picked up the media rights for the Bundesliga beginning 2015/2016 season. After Fox lost the rights to the English Premier League and Fox Soccer changed into a different station, there has been speculation about whether or not Fox would pick up a premier European soccer league. In the mean time they only had the Champions League and the Europa League, which are not weekly competitions. This new deal makes sense given Fox's existing relationship with the Sky Deutschland media empire in Germany. Some had speculated that ESPN, hungry to get in on the soccer wave, might take a shot at the Bundesliga since four of the other five big-ratings leagues in Europe are tied up for years.

It was mentioned that Fox plans to include a web streaming component to their coverage --- perhaps similar to NBC's Live Extra. I can't imagine them NOT doing that at this point with Fox Go having been launched already. The question that remains to be answered, of course, is how much this adds to the Fox Sports brand's value, especially with upcoming negotiations with Dish and DirecTV over Fox Sports 1. Every new piece they add to their portfolio of offerings will increase potential viewership and negotiating leverage. (But I wouldn't count on the big boys at Dish caring a whole lot about soccer in Germany.)

I'm a huge fan of the Bundesliga and couldn't be more excited to see the under-appreciated league finally out of the incompetent hands of GolTV. The 2015/2016 season can't come soon enough, and this is a big enough deal for me that I would probably make TV provider decisions based on who carries the channels Fox will use to air games and who rolls in access to the presumable extra games streamed online as part of the deal.

 

[psychotrope]

I forgot to add that the other way this might have a direct impact on Dish is with their International Programming, specifically the German Mega-Pack. The German Mega-Pack is $30/month and features one channel (MGTV+) which shows some standard definition Bundesliga coverage in the German language. They are the only other carrier of Bundesliga in the United States right now other than GolTV. The PQ for the games is terrible this season. If, in 2015, the Bundesliga is available on Dish Network via the Fox Sports channels in HD, would Dish be concerned that that might reduce the number of subscribers to the all-SD German Mega-Pack? If you prefer to see the games in your own language but have the option to see them in High Definition instead, albeit in English and not German, that might be a strong incentive to unload the $30/month burden. (Or perhaps the all-SD mega pack with BL coverage will have disappeared or be irrelevant by then.) So there are several intriguing aspects to this story and how it relates to Dish's negotiations with Fox over Fox Sports 1 and 2.

 

[KAB]

Soccer Wave?

 

[psychotrope]

Soccer Wave?

Laugh if you want. I'm not trying to say that Soccer is necessarily on the upswing in popularity in America. I don't have any statistics on that so I just plain don't know. But with NBC taking the big step of bringing the English Premier League into more of a mainstream light, beIN sports wielding it's world media empire's sword in this country, and ESPN upping it's coverage of world soccer (see the advent of ESPN FC), many of the other sports distributors are watching to see how much pie there is on the table and if they can get a piece of it before the Kitty Cat of bland gentrification knocks the whole dish crashing onto the floor of sports overexposure and fan apathy.

 

[dalyew]

I know Dish's decision to not carry the Premier League Extra Time channels finally pushed me to break my contract and switched to DirecTV. I love my NBA & NFL but I also love my soccer. I definitely see an uptick in interest by previously non soccer fans as they're talking about Premier League clubs they had no idea existed a year ago.

For those who don't think soccer is catching on, 2 things; I remember when US World Cup Qualifying games in the past were half filled in the stands, now they're consistently full......the other......I'm seeing many fields around my area where kids used to play baseball all the time, now soccer is the primary activity on those fields, although an occasional game of baseball & softball is still played there.

Never payed much attention to the Bundesliga before, but good coverage will always bring in more fans.

 

[Tampa8]

Bundesliga or Red Sox playoffs. Tuff choice.

 

[dalyew]

Bundesliga or Red Sox playoffs. Tuff choice.

Lol.....you're a trip! Playoffs win....this time! Lol

 

[psychotrope]

Bundesliga or Red Sox playoffs. Tuff choice.

Is that a trick question? Bundesliga hands down. I know there's not much action taking place in soccer (especially compared to Hockey and Football), but there's sure a lot more going on in an average 5-minute span than there is in baseball.

(Not trying to start a flame war. Just having a little fun.)

 

[Bobby]

2 years to wait.... Oh my!

 

[Yespage]

Its a good pickup for Fox, but certainly not a replacement for EPL. And well down the road.

 

[psychotrope]

Its a good pickup for Fox, but certainly not a replacement for EPL. And well down the road.

To be sure, not a replacement for EPL. But with beIN owning La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 (as well as Paris St.-Germain for a nice conflict of interest situation), and even the English Championship, the Bundesliga was undoubtedly the best available, and by a long ways. They are currently ranked as the third best league in Europe (Behind EPL and La Liga) and have been for several years. And each year their lead over Serie A in that respect is increasing, not decreasing. Meanwhile Ligue 1 is all the way down to 6th (yet still one of the most watched). The BL represents the best soccer with a deal available and probably at a bargain price compared to the other members of the top 4 leagues in Europe. I'm curious to see if Fox can leverage the quality of football that is present in the Bundesliga into a greater familiarity and popularity for the league in this country.