Top German League Remains on ESPN in UK & Ireland
ESPN and DFL, the commercial arm of the German Bundesliga, have agreed a three year agreement (seasons 2012/13 – 2014/15) for live coverage of the Bundesliga to remain on ESPN in the UK and Ireland. The agreement includes exclusive rights to live television coverage, plus rights to the German SuperCup, promotion and relegation matches, a weekly preview and highlights programme, as well as rights for content across video-on-demand, online and mobile platforms.
ESPN will televise up to four matches per week (all in HD). Online and on mobile, ESPN will provide UK fans with the latest news, information, analysis, and exclusive video on ESPN.co.uk and ESPNFC.com, the sports media company’s recently announced worldwide multimedia football initiative.
Jörg Daubitzer, Managing Director of DFL Sports Enterprises said: “We’re very pleased to continue our successful partnership with ESPN in the UK and Ireland. ESPN has been an excellent and most reliable partner for years, not only in the UK but in several parts of the world, among others in Brazil and the US.”
“The Bundesliga is a fantastic league that features some of the best football in Europe and we’re very pleased to continue our relationship with them for another three seasons,” said Jeroen Oerlemans, vice president and channel manager, ESPN – Europe, Middle East and Africa. “UK football fans are among the most engaged and knowledgeable about the game. They appreciate top quality play, players and clubs, and keeping the Bundesliga as a key part of our schedule alongside other top football and a range of other sport serves those fans well.”
Over coming seasons, football fans will be able to see some of Europe’s top clubs, including last season’s UEFA Champions League finalists Bayern Munich and current Bundesliga title-holders Borussia Dortmund (who will be aiming for their third consecutive title this season) as well as Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Schalke 04 who will join Bayern Munich and Dortmund in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League. Fans can expect Bayern Munich and Dortmund to be locked in a battle for supremacy again this season after Bayern finished runners-up to Dortmund in both the league and the German Cup last season.
The league boasts the highest average attendance of any European football league, which ensures a dynamic atmosphere all season. Each week, fans at the matches and ESPN viewers in the UK and Ireland, will see some of the world’s most exciting players in action, including the stars of Germany’s powerful national team, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Mario Gomez, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer and Philipp Lahm; top young football talent such as Mario Götze, Toni Kroos, Xherdan Shaqiri, Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski; and established European stars such as Arjen Robben, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Łukasz Piszczek and Franck Ribéry.
The Bundesliga forms a key part of ESPN’s coverage of a wide range of UK and European football, which this season also includes the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, UEFA Europa League and other European domestic leagues. ESPN also recently announced more than 25 pre-season friendlies featuring top Barclays Premier League and major European sides, including Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, allowing fans to get ready for the season ahead.
In addition to live and exclusive TV coverage of the Bundesliga and other top European leagues, fans can find discussion analysis of the latest in football on ESPN Press Pass. ESPN’s daily football show looks at the global game with a global perspective and brings fans all the latest news, information and opinion about the Bundesliga and all the other top leagues around the world.
About DFL Sports Enterprises:
DFL Sports Enterprises is responsible for all domestic and international sales of commercial rights of the Bundesliga. The sales activities are divided into three lines of business: Audiovisual Rights, Sponsoring & Licensing and Media & Advertising Sales of Bundesliga-own platforms. DFL Sports Enterprises is a 100% subsidiary of the DFL Deutsche Fussball Liga. DFL officially represents all 36 football clubs of the German League Association and is the pivotal element in German professional football.
About ESPN
ESPN, Inc. is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of over 50 multimedia sports assets. ESPN International has grown to include ownership — in whole or in part — of 48 television networks outside of the United States, as well as a variety of brand extension businesses, which allow ESPN to reach fans in 200 countries and territories.
In the UK, ESPN now includes a portfolio of television and digital brands including ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN Classic, ESPN America and ESPN America HD, ESPN.co.uk, ESPNCricinfo.com, ESPNSoccernet.com, ESPNScrum.com, ESPNF1.com, ESPN Goals and ESPN Player (broadband).
ESPN and ESPN HD feature exclusive live coverage of the Barclays Premier League, the FA Cup, Aviva Premiership Rugby, Clydesdale Bank Premier League, UEFA Europa League, Italian Serie A, German Bundesliga, UFC, French Top 14 Rugby, NBA, NFL and much more.
ESPN America and ESPN America HD, the only European networks devoted exclusively to the best in North American sport, features coverage of the NFL, NHL, MLB and NCAA Football and Basketball across Europe, available to 19 million homes in more than 40 countries.
ESPN Classic, dedicated to celebrating the moments and memories that make sport great, now has five uniquely programmed network feeds (UK, French, Italian, pan-European, African and Middle Eastern) available in more than 40 countries and reaching more than 22 million homes.
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