The Cartel Office on Friday gave its approval for the tender, which concerns the rights to the 1.Bundesliga and 2.Bundesliga for the four seasons from 2013-14. The European Commission has also given the procedure the go-ahead. The DFL is now set to issue a letter to all media organisations this week outlining the timeframe and rules of the tender process.

“This is a big step with regard to the pending award of media rights,” said Seifert. “The competitive principles underlying the tender are now clear.” The new tender will include two different approaches to the subject of free-to-air highlights rights.

The traditional 18:00 Saturday slot will be made available, but a second proposal will offer Internet-only early evening highlights with the 18:00 television slot moved to 21:45. The DFL will gauge interest from companies before deciding what route to take.