For the first time, the Champions League "will be shown exclusively on pay-TV in Germany and Austria," from the '18-19 season through the '20-21 season, according to Jörn Krieger of BROADBAND TV NEWS. Sky Deutschland secured the TV rights for "all distribution platforms and will continue to transmit the matches via satellite, cable, IPTV and web/mobile TV (Sky Go and Sky Ticket)." U.K.-based Perform Group will "stream a selection of games on its subscription OTT sports portal DAZN through a sublicensing deal." Financial details were not disclosed. According to industry speculation, Sky Deutschland and Perform Group will pay a total of around €600M ($672M) for the exclusive TV rights in the three seasons. In time for the beginning of the new rights period, both companies "want to announce further details regarding their agreement." German public broadcaster ZDF, which currently screens selected games on free-to-air TV, "remains empty-handed." ZDF General Dir Thomas Bellut said, "We would have liked to show our viewers live matches of the Champions League beyond 2018 and therefore submitted a very good offer. But, as a broadcaster financed by the public TV licence fee, there is a clearly defined limit." One game, however, may "end up being available free-to-air." That could happen "if a German team is part of the final," as such a match has to be shown on free-to-air TV, "according to the German national broadcast law" (BROADBAND TV NEWS, 6/13).
