FRANKFURT, Germany – The Bundesliga has finalized a new four-year broadcast rights deal that will bring a slight increase in money for German clubs.
The new contract announced Friday, which goes into effect next season, will bring the 36 first and second divisions clubs a combined euro412 million ($531.48 million) a year, an increase of about euro7 million ($9.03 million) per year, the German Football League (DFL) said.
“We managed to get a presentable result in a difficult situation for professional football,” DFL president Reinhard Rauball said.
An earlier deal that would have given the league euro500 million ($645 million) a year in exchange for more exclusive rights for pay television fell through because of the opposition from Germany's antitrust agency.
Little will change for viewers, who will now have an additional highlights show Sunday on free television. All games will remain live on the pay television channel Premiere.
There will also be a later Saturday game, although not in prime time, and three Sunday games, in addition to the one Friday game.