Berlin (AP) – Poker is open, albeit not officially. The first exploratory talks have been going on for a long time – and ex-DFL boss Christian Seifert’s plan for a new sports TV provider together with the media group Axel Springer has met with great interest in the professional leagues outside of football.
“Of course we talk to them,” said Stefan Holz of the German Press Agency. The managing director of the basketball Bundesliga emphasized: “When Christian Seifert and Springer tackle something like this, you can be sure that there is substance behind it.”
Seifert and Springer want to set up a streaming provider for handball, basketball, ice hockey and other sports. This promises tempting prospects and negotiating positions, especially for the three largest leagues after the Bundesliga, which they can use profitably in talks with their previous partners.
DEL managing director Gernot Tripcke told the dpa that the new prospects for ice hockey and the league were “very good news”. “It shows that we have a very valuable product when two players who are very knowledgeable about sports want to get involved.”
DEL, HBL and BBL in the shadow of the Bundesliga
The ice hockey manager added: “The fact that the perception and appreciation of our sport as well as basketball and handball should be increased is fundamentally positive.” So far, they have been overshadowed by the Bundesliga, which, mainly thanks to Seifert, had signed billion-dollar contracts. DEL, HBL and BBL, on the other hand, collect an estimated 15 million euros per season – taken together.
Live games from the three leagues are currently available on Telekom’s MagentaSport (basketball and ice hockey) and on Sky (handball). A new prospect like Seifert’s startup, in which Springer says it is the majority shareholder, is just the right thing in view of the contracts that are about to expire. Even if all leagues stated that they want to talk to their current partners first.
Current partners with first negotiating rights
“We are currently dealing with the allocation of our media rights after June 30, 2023,” said HBL Managing Director Frank Bohmann to the specialist magazine “Sponsors”. “In doing so, we will include all relevant options that the market offers us, and we will behave in accordance with the contract.” According to dpa information, the current partners have a right of first negotiation.
BBL Managing Director Holz also emphasized: “Telekom remains our first point of contact.” Regarding the contract, which runs until 2023, he said: “We are very satisfied and we are not just dropping MagentaSport like a hot potato.”
The ice hockey contract with Telekom runs “up to and including the 2023/24 season,” said DEL boss Tripcke. “Of course we will deal with the new tender in good time.” The aim is “that we get a lucrative deal. If there is a competition with several players, that will certainly not be a hindrance.”
Telekom, as the main competitor of the new interested party, had already announced in response that it wanted to “expand the portfolio even further in the future”. Sky sports director Charlie Classen said in view of the competition that is now emerging: “Handball is a very important right for us. We are very happy with it and have always been a reliable partner for the Bundesliga, even in Corona times.”
Naturally, Seifert tries to dampen the hopes of the leagues for lucrative betting. “If a rights holder wants to increase revenue above all, then we are the wrong partner,” the ex-football manager said a few weeks ago.