German pay TV channel Sky has won the rights to show live Bundesliga matches for a total of 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in a four-year package starting in 2013, the league said Tuesday.
The average of 628 million euros per season represented a significant increase over the current 412 million euros with Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge hailing the deal as a "milestone" in German football history.
Announcing the deal in Frankfurt, Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball said: "Today's decision is a quantum leap for the Bundesliga. It is a good day for German football."
However, the German league is still behind the English Premier League when it comes to TV rights as broadcasters pay 770 million euros per season to carry English matches.
Meanwhile, the French league receives 570 million euros annually, but this figure has declined from 668 million euros between 2008 and 2012.
"We are convinced of the attractiveness of our product. The results show that we are not wrong in our assessment," said the head of the league, Christian Seifert.
Public broadcasters ARD and ZDF retained rights for an evening highlights show.
And publishing giant Axel Springer won the rights to broadcast games over the Internet and on smartphones one hour after the final whistle.
Shares in Sky rocketed. They were up 22 percent at one point as rumours circulated in the markets that they had won the deal.
The share price dropped slightly when the rumours were confirmed but were still showing double-digit percentage gains on the MDAX mid-cap market.
Source: AFP
