Revenue Split Could Jeopardize Kirch's Bundesliga TV Deal

German Authorities Questioning Legality Of Kirch's TV Deal With Bundesliga

KirchGroup Founder Leo Kirch's Sirius SportsMedia's US$4.7B deal for the TV rights to the German Bundesliga "could be in jeopardy after opposition from the country's cartel office," according to Scott Roxborough of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Authorities are questioning the "legality of the agreement" between Sirius and the German Soccer League (DFL), as the league's "practice of marketing TV rights for all German clubs -- big and small -- as one package" is being questioned. In the agreement, rights revenue is "divided among teams, with the largest club's getting the lion's share." Cartel office Chair Ralph Langhoff has threatened to block the deal unless the "practice is changed by, for example, giving smaller teams a bigger share of TV revenue." Roxborough notes that "doesn't sit well" with the larger clubs; Bayern Munich claims that central marketing "puts it on the back foot." Bayern, which earns about US$39M a season from its share of TV revenue, believes that it could pull in about US$155M "or more if it sold the rights to its games on its own" (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 3/12).