German football league
Dispute over TV rights: DAZN goes to court
The Internet sports broadcaster DAZN is accepting a years-long legal dispute with the DFL. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
The dispute over the auction of TV rights is entering the next round. Now lawyers are in demand.
The dispute over the TV rights auction between the German Football League and the internet sports broadcaster DAZN are going to court.
“In view of the DFL’s lack of response to our complaint about the unlawful allocation of rights package B, DAZN will take legal action to achieve the award of the package,” a company spokesman told the German Press Agency on Friday. The sales process for the audiovisual media rights of the Bundesliga was interrupted the previous week. The lack of a bank guarantee was controversial.
The global media company based in London wants to exhaust all legal means in the dispute with the DFL. “The legal process can take years, starting with a lawsuit before an arbitration tribunal and possibly through several instances before German civil courts, possibly involving the European Court of Justice,” said the DAZN spokesman.
The dispute is about package B for live games on pay TV. It is the largest package with the games on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and on Friday evening as well as the relegation games. This pack contains a total of 196 live games.