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“Put investors in their place”: Fan protests like the one here in Stuttgart are now part of everyday life in the Bundesliga
Photo: Jan Huebner / IMAGO
The US financial investor Blackstone is withdrawing from the bidding process for the media rights of the Bundesliga. Initially, the Bloomberg news agency reported that the company was abandoning the project because it was feared that the process would drag on too long due to the hesitation of some clubs. The ongoing protests from fans are also said to have an influence on Blackstone refraining from joining.
Later in the evening, the German Football League DFL confirmed the withdrawal. "We confirm that, after good discussions, Blackstone is no longer an option as a strategic marketing partner for the Bundesliga and 2nd Bundesliga for various reasons," the DFL said in a statement upon request from the sports information service: "The DFL and the clubs were "We are always aware that the key points and red lines adopted in December place high demands on potential partners." Given the ongoing process, they did not want to go into details, it said.
The withdrawal is a setback for the DFL: This leaves only the investment company CVC as the last contender for a percentage stake in a DFL subsidiary to exploit media rights. The DFL hopes to receive one billion euros from a financial investor for this share in the TV revenue.
Criticism of the vote
The contract with the strategic marketing partner should be concluded before the national TV rights are put out to tender. The auction for this is planned for mid-April. The DFL recently reduced the number of applicants little by little to two companies, but now only one of them is left. The active fan scenes have been protesting against the DFL's plans for months. They criticize that there was no dialogue with them.
In a secret vote of the 36 professional clubs last December, the necessary two-thirds majority was only barely achieved - also because Hanover's club boss Martin Kind is said to have voted for an investor to join. The club had instructed Kind to vote against joining. Kind himself never said how he actually voted.
jan/dpa/sid