Full Breakdown
Bundesliga Secures Separate English and Spanish U.S. Media Rights Deals
7/16/2026, 8:29:48 PM
New U.S. Media Rights Structure for the Bundesliga
The league has signed a three-year agreement with Telemundo for Spanish-language coverage and a five-year deal with Versant for English-language rights. Telemundo will pay just under $10 million annually, while Versant provides $20 million per year, keeping total U.S. revenue roughly equal to the $30 million per-year received from ESPN’s previous six-year contract. The arrangement marks the first time the Bundesliga has sold its Spanish rights separately in the United States. More than 100 matches per season will air on Telemundo and its cable channel Universo, with all games streaming in Spanish on Peacock.
Strategic Context and Revenue Outlook
The agreements are the inaugural U.S. rights contracts negotiated under the league’s 17-year partnership with commercial-rights agency Relevent, which created Bundesliga Americas to drive growth across North, Central and South America. Compared with the 2019-2020 ESPN deal—signed during the peak of the streaming wars—the new contracts reflect a softened market but still match prior financial performance, an achievement the league cites as a “strong commercial result in a challenging market.” The revenue remains modest next to the Premier League ($450 million) and La Liga ($175 million) but exceeds Serie A’s low-eight-figure U.S. deal.
Executive Perspectives
Bundesliga executives emphasize relevance over rights cycles, noting that expanded accessibility in the U.S. aims to build long-term value and attract regional sponsorships. They view the league’s “challenger” status abroad as an advantage that can be leveraged with clubs to innovate and grow fan engagement.
Verbatim Quotes
- “The times of the matchups play very well for us where we can move from Telemundo to Universo and obviously all of those on Peacock, and move around from English Premier League to Bundesliga and keep the audiences flowing from Telemundo to Peacock and to Universo,” — Joaquin Duro, EVP/Sports, Telemundo
- “Rights cycles come and go, but building relevance is what really creates long-term value, and that’s what we are looking at,” — Peer Naubert, CCO, Bundesliga
- “In our worlds of experience, that’s ultimately what leads to stronger commercial outcomes.” — Peer Naubert, CCO, Bundesliga
- “The key headline for us is that we are expanding our accessibility in the U.S. while simultaneously delivering strong financial results,” — Robin Austermann, EVP, Bundesliga Americas
- “As opposed to our very, very strong domestic position, internationally we are a challenger,” — Peer Naubert, CCO, Bundesliga
Outlook and Market Position
Bundesliga Americas is producing bilingual content from a studio in Guadalajara and hosting fan events to deepen regional relevance. Executives anticipate that the broader distribution will enable additional sponsorship deals and stronger commercial outcomes in future rights cycles, positioning the German league to grow its footprint despite a competitive U.S. sports market.
