The German Football League (DFL) is not planning to open the dressing room for the coming media rights period from 2025 and does want to provide the TV stations with certain sweets.
“We are a different product than the leagues in the USA, which open the dressing room and are present at the coaches’ speeches. That will stay as it is in the Bundesliga,” said DFL managing director Steffen Merkel: “That is not realistic and not our request.”
However, it is “clear that we certainly have to develop further at one point or another,” explained the 38-year-old: “That doesn’t mean that we are completely opening ourselves up to commerce and entertainment. There will be a few topics that “We will present this at the concrete presentation of the tender in January. This will always be done with a sense of proportion.”
In general, Merkel emphasized that he does not share the recent “doomsday predictions” for the tender: “Are growth rates of 80 percent like in 2012 or 2016 realistic given the current market environment? Certainly not. But the Bundesliga is still by far the most valuable media law in Germany .”
This season, the Bundesliga is “ahead of England, Spain, Italy and France” in the five-year rankings, said the managing director: “So there are reasons to go into the tender with self-confidence.” The DFL will be able to “offer significantly improved media law”.