TV rights
DAZN/DFL dispute: This is how proceedings before the arbitration court work
The Internet sports broadcaster DAZN and the German Football League continue to argue. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
The broadcaster DAZN now wants to go to court in the dispute over the TV rights of the Bundesliga. However, not before a state court, but before an arbitration court. What are the procedures there?
The dispute over the award of the TV rights for the Bundesliga between the German Football League (DFL) and the broadcaster DAZN should end up before an arbitration tribunal.
DAZN says it plans to appeal to the German Arbitration Institution (DIS) today. This is a step that is provided for in the DFL’s tender documents in the event of a dispute and was accepted by the bidders.
As a rule, the parties to the dispute appoint an impartial and independent arbitrator for the proceedings. These two in turn select a presiding arbitrator together. The three-member arbitration tribunal is intended to ensure an amicable resolution of the dispute. If this is not possible, it decides like a regular court.
This arbitral award has the same effect as a final judgment and can only be challenged in ordinary courts due to formal violations. Arbitration proceedings usually take less time than proceedings before state courts because they are only conducted in one instance. The DFL dispute with Discovery/Eurosport over missing millions in payments lasted almost half a year in 2020.
The dispute broke out after the DFL awarded TV rights package B for the 2025/26 to 2028/29 seasons to the pay-TV provider Sky at the auction two weeks ago, according to dpa information. Its competitor DAZN claims that the DFL rejected its much more lucrative offer because a bank guarantee requested at short notice could not be obtained within one day.
According to its own information, the DFL legally awarded the disputed package to another bidder. The league association explained that DAZN’s offers did not comply with the tender and were therefore not taken into account in the award. The DFL “firmly rejects” DAZN’s accusation that it was not correctly informed about the award conditions.