Sky Deutschland: “We’d have paid more for Bundesliga rights”
August 23, 2012
By Chris Forrester
Such is the importance of top-quality – and exclusive – football that Sky Deutschland’s CEO Brian Sullivan says the broadcaster would have paid even more to beat out the competition for Bundesliga rights.
Sullivan told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper that the pay-TV broadcaster did not reach the upper limit of its negotiation levels. Sky Deutschland bought exclusive coverage for TV, Internet and mobile delivery, paying €486 million per year, on a five year contract, to secure exclusivity, an increase of more than €200 million on previous annual costs.
Sullivan said they had looked at the costs of football coverage in other European markets and would have paid more if need be.