Berlin – DAZN has expressed reservations about the auction stop triggered by the streaming service in the allocation of television rights to the German Football League (DFL).
“DAZN has concerns about certain elements of the procurement process and has raised these issues directly with the DFL. DAZN continues to strive to create added value for the Bundesliga, its clubs and its fans,” said a DAZN spokesman when asked by the German Press Agency. In addition, the company will “not comment further on the issue at this time.”
When asked, DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke did not want to comment on the issue at all and referred to the DFL management.
The DFL had previously confirmed that it had stopped the auction to sell the TV rights. According to reports from “Bild” and “Frankfurter Rundschau”, the background to the so far unique action is a complaint from DAZN. The streaming platform sent a letter to the two DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel as well as the clubs and made serious allegations.
The management in turn informed the clubs about the interruption. A spokesman said in the evening: “The DFL clearly rejects the allegations.”
Billion dollar business
The DFL sells its media rights every four years; the league currently earns an average of around 1.1 billion euros per season. The auction for the 2025/26 to 2028/29 seasons started this week. According to its own information, DAZN submitted the highest offer in the bidding for package B, but should provide a bank guarantee in the short term. As it writes in a letter to the DFL management and the 36 clubs, the company has “issued a tough letter of comfort” as in the last tender.
B is the largest package with the games on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and on Friday evening as well as the relegation games. This pack contains a total of 196 live games.
DAZN did not win the bidding against Sky, despite what the company considered to be a “financially superior offer”. This violates German and European antitrust law, DAZN continued. The streaming company therefore contacted the Federal Cartel Office, which approved and monitored the tender.