The Bundesliga’s new television deal with Versant for the United States market was met with shock and dismay from many corners of fans, but there is now some very good news for those still hoping to have an easy way to watch their favorite teams.
While the English-language broadcasts will be split between the USA network and Fandango’s upstart streaming service, the Spanish-language broadcast partnership has been announced with NBCUniversal’s Telemundo — apparently with all matches streaming on Peacock.
As announced on Bundesliga.com:
As the exclusive English-language home of the Bundesliga beginning with the upcoming 2026/27 season, USA Sports will broadcast at least 30 matches on USA Network each season with all other matches available to stream for free on Fandango. Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of Germany’s top flight in the U.S., will broadcast more than 100 matches on Telemundo and Universo each season, with all matches available to stream on Peacock.
This is excellent news and it will be a smooth transition for fans who have watched this summer’s Men’s World Cup (in Spanish) on Peacock anyway — especially if it means there will continue to be a single place where all matches are available on demand.
In terms of price, ESPN+ annual subscriptions are going for $129.99, up $10 from the previous year. Peacock Premium — the tier of the streaming service that is required to have access to live sports —is $109.99/year.
From the league’s perspective, this is a three-year deal at “just under” $10M a year, which combined with $20M from Versant, puts the Bundesliga back about level to where it was before. As reported in Sports Business Journal:
A source with knowledge of the agreement said Telemundo will pay the Bundesliga just under $10M a year for the Spanish-language rights. Combined with the $20M the league will receive annually under its five-year English-language deal with Versant, the league’s total U.S. rights haul going forward is roughly in line with the $30M it received annually from ESPN under its previous six-year deal.
ESPN held both English- and Spanish-language rights for Bundesliga matches in the U.S., with every match streaming on ESPN+ and only a handful appearing on its linear networks.
Peacock will now carry both all Bundesliga matches and a selection of Premier League games every week.
It looks like the league is actually delivering on its promise to expand access in the United States. However, still no word as yet on the DFB-Pokal and 2. Bundesliga, both of which begin in August.
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