“The DFL was informed in a letter that the model it presented was tolerated by the Federal Cartel Office,” the authority said after completing the audit on Monday. The Cartel Office had previously approved the plans “provisionally” and given the companies involved another opportunity to comment.
The most important change in the allocation of national TV rights from 2025/26 to 2028/29 is the elimination of the so-called “no single buyer rule”. In the future, the sale of broadcasting rights to live Bundesliga games will again be possible to just one provider. The reason for this is the increasing movement on the market by providers such as DAZN, RTL and Amazon, the authority said, but acquisition by several broadcasters remains “in principle possible”.
“We are very pleased with the final approval by the Federal Cartel Office for the concept of our media rights tender after a very intensive review,” said DFL managing director Steffen Merkel: “The approval of the model planned by the DFL – in particular the abolition of the ban on sole proprietorship demanded in the past – puts the allocation of media rights on a legally secure foundation and is a strong basis for a good tender.”
