A lot of discussion has occurred since the announcement of the Bundesliga signing a deal wth Versant for its United States television deal.
Games will be broadcast free on the streaming platform Fandango, but there will also be 30+ games per season on the linear cable station USA.
One of the biggest points of contention is that the league took a financial hit to sign this deal — leaving fans to assume that there was not more money on the table. Below is what Sport Bild (via @iMiaSanMia) is reporting
on the situation:
The new Bundesliga rights deal with Versant in the US is worth just about $20m per year, which is a significant decrease from the previous $34m per year paid by ESPN. In general, the Bundesliga is struggling with its position in terms of American interest, ranking only fourth among European top leagues. Several factors have contributed to this decline:
-the lack of excitement in the title race (Bayern have won 13 of the last 14 league titles)
-the limited number of internationally renowned clubs (Bayern is the only Bundesliga side among the 15 most popular football clubs in the United States)
-the absence of American players in the Bundesliga
-the lack of international top stars
-the lack of recent international success both at club and national team level
No matter what the reason, the league taking that much of a hit is a bad look and maybe a bad sign. American fans are going to have to rally around the league more than ever as this is a red flag for the future of the league’s broadcast rights.
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