Good times are beginning for handball fans. At least one live game on TV on every match day at no additional cost, as well as a cheaper paid offer for the Bundesliga and lots of free short videos.
However, this tempting TV handball world will only be available from the 2023/24 season. The clubs also have to wait another year for the significantly increased income from the new media contract.
In the season starting on Wednesday, the old contract of the league is still valid. If you want to watch the Bundesliga games live on TV in the last Sky season, you need the sports package. This currently costs 20 euros for new customers, after that 25.00 euros per month.
Four games live on TV
In the new season, ARD will again broadcast several games in the first and third programs. “This season, like in the recent past, we are planning to broadcast four live games on the first,” said ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky. One of the two games in the league on November 19th is the top match between champions SC Magdeburg and THW Kiel. In addition, there are two games of the cup finals in the first. As in the past season, there are further transmissions in the 3rd programmes.
However, the changes that will affect both fans and clubs are already becoming clear. From the 2023/24 season, the rights are owned by S Nation Media, the TV internet project by Christian Seifert and the media company Axel Springer SE. There are some improvements for fans and clubs.
Media revenues increased
According to consistent media reports, the HBL collects around ten million euros per year from the season after next until the 2028/29 season. That’s about twice as much as in this series. “It’s no secret that we’re achieving a significant increase in media revenues,” said HBL Managing Director Frank Bohmann to the specialist magazine “Sponsors”, without naming any figures. In addition, Seifert is to invest 55 million in production and marketing with his project.
More money for the clubs, less costs for the fans. The new provider’s subscription should be cheaper than Sky and, according to information from the dpa, be less than 15 euros per month – and include handball and other sports.
The new project would hardly have been possible without handball with its broad fan base, it should attract the most subscribers. It is difficult to predict how many fans will pay for the new pay offer. According to Sky, the average value for a full matchday last season was 156,000 viewers.
Popular on TV
The potential of handball can be seen in the broadcasts on free TV. At more than 1.6 million, the average of the league games was in the first. “The Handball Bundesliga is and will remain an exciting topic for ARD,” said Balkausky. According to the ARD sports director, talks with the new rights holder for the coming seasons are planned for autumn.
According to S Nation Media, it plans to “grant a sub-license for selected live games and summary reporting to ARD and ZDF”. Seifert and the league rely heavily on pictures on free television, one game per game day is to be shown on Springer’s free TV broadcaster Bild.