DFB-Pokal (German Cup) sponsors "could see price increases of up to 30% for the next rights period," according to Rehm & Eberhardt of SPONSORs. The competition has only six official partners since the start of the '12-13 season -- Bitburger, Continental, Detutsche Post, Engelbert Strauss, Targobank and Volkswagen. The companies, whose contracts are set to expire after the '15-16 season, pay between €3M-€3.5M ($3.3M-$3.8M) annually depending on the rights package. Infront, the official marketing partner of the DFB-Pokal, has already kicked off negotiations for the upcoming rights period. The new rights period "will reportedly see drastic price increases." The increases are expected to be in the double-digits and reach up to 30% on some occasions. Infront confirmed that all packages will see a price increase. Infront Summer Sports Dir Uwe Ploch: "The planned price hike mirrors the growing fan interest in the competition." A further reason, according to Ploch, is that DFB-Pokal partners will receive more extensive rights packages starting in '16-17. German Football Federation (DFB) President Wolfgang Niersbach said that the cup competition generates an estimated €50M-€51M ($55M-$56M) (SPONSORs, 7/13).
