German Football League (DFL) CEO Christian Seifert talked "about the importance of television," according to Kevin Baxter of the L.A. TIMES. Seifert has "suddenly become a big fan of the medium since TV is at the center of his strategy" to turn the once insular football league into a worldwide brand. Seifert said, "Football is part of the entertainment world and the entertainment world has turned into a global business in the last five to 10 years. And soccer, as a global sport, is of course dedicated to be broadcast all over the world." The EPL is "the most-watched league in the world." The Bundesliga -- "not so much." Its current TV contract brings in only $715M domestically, "about a quarter of what the EPL will get under its new deal." Money "is only part of the equation, though, because thanks to the five-year 21st Century Fox deal that covers more than 80 territories, including North America, Brazil, Indonesia, China and Japan, the Bundesliga is seen in 209 territories." Fox soccer analyst Ian Joy, who played for three German teams between '04 and '10, said, "When I played in the Bundesliga, it was almost as if it was the secret they wanted to keep between themselves." Social media, the Internet and the explosion in rights fees "changed all that." Seifert said, "We have to grow globally because the others are doing it. It's about the money that comes into the league. Also for clubs like Bayern Munich, if you sell a shirt, no matter where around the world, it's a good thing. In the past the Bundesliga was very conservative in going outside its own market" (L.A. TIMES, 11/28).
EPL THREAT: ESPN's Stephan Uersfeld wrote Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said the new Premier League TV deal "poses a great threat to all other European leagues." Broadcasters Sky and BT Sport bought the Premier League TV rights from the '16-17 season on for a record £5.13B ($7.7B). Rummenigge said, "I recently talked to Florentino Perez, the Real [Madrid] president, and to [AC] Milan CEO Adriano Galliani. We agreed that England poses a great threat to all other European Leagues." He warned that players were demanding more and more money and there would come a time "when it will get difficult for Bayern to withstand the money pressure from England." Rummenigge warned that int'l competitiveness would be jeopardized "when we have to admit during contract talks that offers from English clubs could not be matched" (ESPN, 11/30).
