The partnership with Bundesliga was initially agreed for 2.5 years until the end of the 2011/12 season but has now been extended for another three years and will now run until the end of the 2014/15 season.
"We are very satisfied with the audience ratings for Bundesliga and are delighted about our early contract extension," says Imtiaz Patel, group CEO of Multichoice South Africa (and former CEO of SuperSport). "Bundesliga is one of the top brands in international football and we are anticipating a very strong international growth of this premium property in the coming years. With the extension of the contract and the subsequent securing of the broadcast rights until 2015, we are sealing the beginning of a long-term partnership with the Bundesliga."
"We are very pleased to have won Africa's leading sports broadcaster as a long-term licensee," says Jörg Daubitzer, MD of DFL Sports Enterprises. "This is fantastic news, especially against the backdrop of this year's World Cup in South Africa, which clearly lifted the Bundesliga brand to another international level. The early extension of the contract is at the same time a successful kick-off for our new round of international licensing for the seasons 2012/13 through 2014/15."
Bundesliga is broadcast in all 208 FIFA member states and can be seen by over 700 million viewers. "The intrinsic value of Bundesliga rights is now more and more reflected in our license revenues. However, the additional income generated through international TV rights is only one side of the coin. "The contract extension with SuperSport definitely brings home the message that on the back of our international TV rights we have the ability to significantly expand the added value," says Daubitzer.
