The deal covers three seasons from 2012-13 to 2014-15, with MP & Silva acting as the exclusive distributor of rights across all platforms, including cable, satellite, terrestrial, Web TV, Internet Protocol TV and mobile for the 1.Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga. The deal means that MP & Silva is now representing elite German football in four territories, with agreements already in place for Belgium, Japan and Vietnam.
“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with DFL Sports Enterprises to cover such an important market,” said MP & Silva CEO Andrea Radrizzani. “With several French players currently involved in the Bundesliga and with (France national team star) Franck Ribéry having extended his contract with Bayern Munich through to 2015, the Bundesliga is an extremely attractive product for French broadcasters.”
Jorg Daubitzer, the managing director of DFL Sports Enterprises – a unit of the German Football League – added: “We are very pleased about this additional co-operation with MP & Silva. The sports rights situation in France is currently changing significantly and we feel that MP & Silva, being one of the leading sports rights agencies with excellent contacts to all significant players in the French market, is best suited to maximize the exposure of Bundesliga in this important market.”
France Telecom CEO Stéphane Richard confirmed at the weekend that the company was in talks with Qatari satellite broadcaster Al Jazeera about a possible sale of the Orange Sport pay-television service. Al Jazeera recently acquired domestic and international broadcast rights for Ligue 1, the top flight of football in France.