Sky Deutschland "beat out heavyweight challenger Deutsche Telekom in an auction for broadcast rights for German Bundesliga soccer matches," according to REUTERS. The rights "cover the four seasons starting" in '13-14, and are worth US$3.3B. Sky Deutschland won the rights "to show Bundesliga matches via cable and satellite -- which it already held for the last three seasons -- as well as the mobile and IPTV rights previously held by Duetsche Telekom" (REUTERS, 4/17). DOW JONES' Harriet Torry reports shares of Sky Deutschland "soared over 20%" early today amid reports that the pay-TV operator would continue to hold the Bundesliga broadcast rights. Analysts have said that keeping the exclusive national TV soccer rights is "crucial for Sky Deutschland to lure customers to pay-TV services." A German market analyst said that the channel "wouldn't be much" without the Bundesliga. Commerzbank analyst Sonia Rasbussier said last week that "retaining the rights would mean Sky Deutschland keeps its buy rating, and losing them would mean a downgrade to sell" (NASDAQ.com, 4/17).
