German Free-To-Air TV Channel Sat.1 Hikes NFL Coverage Ahead Of Super Bowl

German free-to-air TV channel Sat.1 "has decided to expand its NFL coverage ahead of the Super Bowl," according to Sidney Schering of QUOTENMETER. The channel will show extensive coverage of three Divisional Playoff matches on Jan. 11 starting at 2:15am. In addition, Sat.1 will live broadcast an additional matchup on Jan. 11 starting at 11:15pm. A week later on Jan. 18, Sat.1 will air both the NFC and AFC Championship Games starting at 11:15pm. The Super Bowl itself will air on Feb. 1, with coverage starting at 11:15pm (QUOTENMETER, 12/2).

HANDBALL BLACKOUT: In a separate piece, Schering reported German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF "will not show the 2015 IHF Handball World Championship in Qatar in January." Sports rights agency SportA, which handled the negotiations for ARD and ZDF, submitted an offer to rights holder beIN Sports in August. The Al Jazeera subsidiary, however, did not respond to the offer until Monday. As a result ARD and ZDF dropped out of the negotiations (QUOTENMETER, 12/2).