Bundesliga International and Sportfive to Distribute Selected Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America

• SPORTFIVE is collaborating with Bundesliga International to market free TV rights within the territory of sub-Saharan Africa for the next 3 seasons
   
• The deal also includes marketing Bundesliga media rights within the territory of Latin America, excluding Brazil, for the on-going 2020-21 Bundesliga season

Global sports business agency SPORTFIVE and Bundesliga International, a subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, have agreed a partnership regarding the local distribution of Bundesliga media rights in selected international markets within sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

The cooperation regarding the territory of sub-Saharan Africa will last for the next three seasons up to and including 2022-23, whilst the marketing agreement regarding Latin America (excluding Brazil) applies to the recently kicked-off 2020-21 Bundesliga season.

For Africa, Bundesliga International will work with SPORTFIVE to market a dedicated free TV package to sub-Saharan African media stations. The package contains one high-profile Bundesliga match per matchday as well as the Bundesliga “Weekly” preview show and the Bundesliga highlights show, featuring the best action from every matchday.

Going market by market allows the Bundesliga to reach more football fans throughout Africa, with more Free-to-Air (FTA) broadcast packages providing in depth, curated content that resonates with local audiences. SPORTFIVE has worked extensively in the sub-Saharan African territory, currently with the Commonwealth Games as well as with the NBA and the Serie A in the past, and has the capability to provide the in-market expertise for Bundesliga International.

For Latin-America, SPORTFIVE will market a portfolio of country-dedicated pay and free TV packages. The available broadcast and digital products will not only include live matches, but also highlight formats, interviews and wide-ranging social media content, as well as the possibility to individually customise packages. The deal supports Bundesliga International’s overall strategy to deliver world-class content to fans in each country, whilst retaining pan-regional deals to guarantee a wide distribution of one of the world’s most exciting leagues across multiple platforms.

Bundesliga International and SPORTFIVE collaborated on the deal to bring the Bundesliga to the OneFootball app across LATAM and Brazil, and are now working on further partnerships to ensure increased local FTA and pay TV agreements.

While SPORTFIVE will market the Bundesliga rights under its own name, it will cooperate closely with Bundesliga International to support the Bundesliga’s marketing and distribution goals for the two regions.

Robert Klein, Bundesliga International CEO, adds: “Partnering with broadcasters in multiple countries across the regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America allows us to deliver the Bundesliga in a way that is relevant, engaging and tailored specifically to local fans. This remains an integral part of our strategy and we are already seeing the fruits of this approach.”

Nikolaus von Doetinchem, President Media at SPORTFIVE, says: “I am happy to build on our well-established partnership with Bundesliga International. We have all the necessary expertise for successfully distributing the Bundesliga’s media rights to the demanding territories of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America market-by-market. By focusing on the needs of Bundesliga International and prioritizing their goals, we are once more truly implementing the customer centricity approach of SPORTFIVE.”

ABOUT BUNDESLIGA INTERNATIONAL
Bundesliga International is a full subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga and responsible for connecting and inspiring football fans around the globe. Its main focus is to drive internationalisation by driving passion for the Bundesliga with contagious content using the highest technical innovation standards. Bundesliga International is marketing the audiovisual, sponsorship (partnership) rights, brand and digital licenses through a global network of 80 partners.

ABOUT THE BUNDESLIGA
The Bundesliga is the premier professional association football league in Germany and the football league with the highest average stadium attendance worldwide. The league was established in 1963 and comprises 18 teams which operate on a system of promotion and relegation with the Bundesliga 2.