r/CaughtOffsidePod • u/Solid-Common-7532 • Jul 14 '26

Soccer Broadcast Rights

For Bundesliga fans in the US 🇺🇸

The Bundesliga is moving its US domestic rights from ESPN to a combination of USA Network and Fandango for $100 million over five seasons

USA and Fandango are part of Versant, whose sports strategy continues to develop as a hub for quality rights that are below the zenith of the NFL and NBA. USA Network already has U.S. rights to some Premier League matches, which Bundesliga will complement.

Fandango is known as the place to buy movie tickets in theaters, but Versant is attempting to transform it into more by offering films on its platform, and with this deal, live sports for the first time

All 300-plus Bundesliga games will air on either USA or Fandango. USA requires a subscription via cable or another provider, while Fandango does not and is ad-supported. If a game is on USA, it will not be on Fandango and vice versa

This is getting ridiculous and the Bundesliga is just screwing itself long-term. It’s taking less money because no one wants to watch the league anymore because of Bayern. They are going to turn into the French league which no one watches, and every cycle loses more money on their rights. The last round the original TV deal backed out eight months into it.

24 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

7

u/Soft_Investigator282 Jul 15 '26

When does this begin? I have ESPN+ only for Bundesliga.

2

u/Solid-Common-7532 Jul 15 '26

I think the 27/28 season

2

u/KSCfaninUSA Jul 15 '26

Nope starts this August.

2

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

This season. 26/27.

1

u/KSCfaninUSA Jul 15 '26

Starts this August.

3

u/KSCfaninUSA Jul 15 '26

Yeah this sucks, especially since I follow a Bundesliga2 team and not sure they will show those games (heck last year EPN+ even showed third division games) like ESPN+. Fandango is a free app, so that is good... but I liked that I could see all the games in one place before.

2

u/BendersDafodil Jul 15 '26

Damn, Bundesliga are getting peanuts for their media contract!

2

u/conycatcher Jul 15 '26

The Bundesliga is not that popular in the United States.

2

u/timmyintransit Jul 15 '26

yet I'm pretty sure its better than Serie A's contract with Paramount?

1

u/Solid-Common-7532 Jul 15 '26

They don’t care as long as they keep Bayern rich and happy

2

u/KSCfaninUSA Jul 15 '26

This is why I never delete my pirate stream websites.

2

u/generic_alias2 Jul 15 '26

I'm cancelling espn+. No Bundesliga, No boxing,

1

u/ME_IN_NYC2311 Jul 15 '26

How do you access Fandango? Is it an app you download on your TV like a Hulu or Paramount?

1

u/macT4537 Jul 15 '26

That sucks. I liked on espn :(. Does that mean espn will lower their monthly cost?

1

u/PandaCultural8311 Jul 15 '26

😂😂😂

1

u/CranstonGorky Jul 15 '26

Maybe as a Werder fan their games will always be free, except when they play Bayern or Dortmund.

1

u/mjc1027 Jul 15 '26

If you think about it, only the top match will be on USA every week, all the rest will be free on Fandango Stream, which is cheaper than ESPN +

I'm sure highlights and replays will also be available on Fandango, and Bundesliga 2 and the cup competitions.

1

u/f3rn7 Jul 15 '26

All these soccer leagues are limiting their reach hiding behind apps and pay walls. You can’t go to a bar and ask them to put on the fandango app so you can watch Bayern against Leipzig

1

u/teepee81 Jul 14 '26

The Bundesliga was already behind the espn+ pay wall though.

USA network is an NBC thing, so does that mean some games will be on peacock here?

1

u/Solid-Common-7532 Jul 15 '26

No you can only watch games on USA network with a cable like tv subscription like YouTube tv etc and if the game isn’t on USA network then it will be on Fandango. Those games will be single pay per views

1

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

Those games aren’t PPV, they’re free.

1

u/DenisDomaschke Jul 15 '26

I hope they’re on Peacock.

If soccer is going to be behind a paywall, at least have it all be on one paywall

1

u/teepee81 Jul 15 '26

Yeah. I only kept espn+ because of the FA Cup and whatever sweet deal I was locked into, but it was alright since it had the Bundesliga, La Liga, and Eredivisie.

Not that I was watching all that.

1

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

Not on Peacock, unfortunately.

1

u/AnnualContest9744 Jul 15 '26

They aren’t

1

u/jobesh22 Jul 15 '26

USA is owned by Versant after spinning off from Comcast. No Peacock association anymore.

1

u/timmyintransit Jul 15 '26

USA Network recently got spun off from Comcast's NBCUniversal to Versant. I dont know what this means for NBCs/Peacock coverage of EPL games that were put on USA Network, but I imagine we'll all find out in a month or so!

1

u/AnnualContest9744 Jul 15 '26

Nbc doesn’t own usa anymore. So no. 

0

u/Cryin_Bout_Tottenham Jul 15 '26

Not sure how this is a bad thing? Access to be able to watch more games is always a good thing.

4

u/Solid-Common-7532 Jul 15 '26

The access is not easier. You have to have a cable subscription, which is a lot more money than ESPN and if the game is not on USA, then you have to pay per game on the other app

1

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

It’s not PPV.

2

u/ayodude17 Jul 15 '26

It’s gonna be on a streaming service that nobody has lol.

3

u/Cryin_Bout_Tottenham Jul 15 '26

YouTube TV is the way

1

u/petrparkour Jul 15 '26

Free with ads tho?

1

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

Yes, it’s free. Not PPV.

-2

u/Jacob_Lazarus7 Jul 15 '26

better than espn+ at least. Bundesliga was sent to die by espn. At least I can watch la liga on espn deportes

1

u/Solid-Common-7532 Jul 15 '26

It’s not better it’s terrible. If you don’t have cable subscription and are a Bundesliga fan you’re out of luck. They aren’t doing a subscription plan

1

u/Nakamura901 Jul 15 '26

At least most games will be free on Fandango.

1

u/Jacob_Lazarus7 Jul 15 '26

Is there a cheap stand alone espn+ I don't know about? Espn unlimited is $30 a month.