Streaming portal DAZN is taking to court the dispute with the German Football League (DFL) over the Bundesliga broadcasting rights for 2025-2029, a spokesperson for the company told dpa on Friday.
"In view of the DFL's lack of response to our complaint about the unlawful allocation of rights package B, DAZN will take legal action to obtain the allocation of the package," the spokesperson said.
The DFL last week suspended the sales process after DAZN said it was unfairly treated by the league when bidding for package B, which is biggest and most lucrative package consisting of the Friday fixture and Saturday afternoon games for a total 196 matches for the seasons 2025-26 to 2028-29.
In response to DAZN's legal threat, the DFL said in a statement: "Should DAZN file the claim, the DFL is well positioned for such proceedings. The DFL expects all parties involved to accept an arbitration as final and conclusive in the interests of swift litigation and legal certainty, which is in everyone's interest."
DAZN sent a letter to DFL managing directors Marc Lenz and Steffen Merkel as well as the 36 clubs on Wednesday, accusing the DFL of demanding a bank guarantee within 24 hours, which was impossible.
It said that like in the past it had submitted an unrestricted comfort letter to the DFL.
DAZN said it submitted the highest bid, reportedly of €1.6 billion ($1.71 billion) for the 2025-2029 period. The package reportedly went to Sky TV, which is said to have offered significantly less than DAZN.
According to dpa information, DAZN intends to withdraw completely from the tender for the Bundesliga rights if it doesn't receive package B.
DAZN's withdrawal would be a problem for the DFL as the auction for the other packages would lack a financially strong competitor that could drive up prices in the bidding.
"The legal process could take years, starting with a lawsuit before an arbitration tribunal and possibly over several instances before German civil courts, possibly involving the European Court of Justice," DAZN spokesperson said.
The DFL, meanwhile, again rejected all of DAZN's accusations.
"The bids submitted by DAZN Limited were not in line with the invitation to tender and were therefore not considered in the award process.
"The document subsequently submitted by DAZN from a bank does not change the decision to award the contract to somebody else. There is no basis and no justification for reverting the decision," the DFL wrote.