The German Bundesliga has secured a new broadcasting partner in the United States, ending its six-year relationship with ESPN. According to reports, a combination of USA Network and Fandango, both part of the Versant media group, has struck a deal to be the English-language broadcaster of Germany's top football league through the 2030-31 season. The agreement is reportedly worth $20 million (€17.4 million) per year, a significant drop from the $34 million per year paid by ESPN.

USA Network and Fandango are part of Versant, a media company seeking to establish itself as a home for broadcasting rights below the top tiers of the NFL and NBA. Fandango is primarily known as a movie ticket app, but Versant aims to diversify its offerings by including live sports. All 300-plus Bundesliga matches will air on these channels, with USA requiring a subscription and Fandango being free and ad-supported.

Reaction from US-based Bundesliga fans on social media has been largely negative. @skierpro posted on X: "This will only make the Bundesliga even more obscure. Any momentum the league had in the US and growing viewership will be destroyed. The folks in Germany signing this agreement have no idea about the US it seems. They just shot themselves in the foot with this deal." Corbin Williams added: "This is bad. The simplicity of having every game on ESPN that already has a lot of other sports was perfect. Fandango, a company with nearly no sports streaming experience, may be free, but the games on USA will require an expensive YT TV, Fubo or similar package."

Dominik Schreyer, a professor of sports economics at Germany's Otto Beisheim School of Management, told DW: "From the outside, the new agreement appears to deliver less media-rights income per season but broader distribution, greater discoverability, and a better chance of reaching viewers beyond the Bundesliga's existing fan base. In essence, the reported financial return appears lower, but the potential reach is greater."

Schreyer acknowledged that the lower fee is disappointing from a business perspective but emphasized the context. "The DFL is facing a difficult market reality. The media-rights market has become more selective, while competition for audience attention is intensifying. Maximizing the check from each individual cycle may therefore no longer be the only sensible objective," he said.

Robin Austermann, Bundesliga Americas executive vice president, stated: "The 2026 World Cup has highlighted the tremendous growth potential of soccer in the US. We've seen that momentum firsthand, with the number of Bundesliga fans in the US growing by 43% over the past five years." However, German football's broader struggles may be undermining the Bundesliga's market position. Bayern Munich's domestic dominance has reduced competition and suspense, the number of star players is relatively low, and Germany's poor recent World Cup performances have weakened the global standing of German football.

Source: www.dw.com