Switching to four-year contracts could allow owners of the rights to plan better and could raise more money for the league, the magazine said, citing league sources as saying discussions with German anti-trust regulators were under way.
The magazine also said that industry sources believed Walt Disney Co unit ESPN could enter the race for the rights and was in talks with German cable television operators about this. German pay-TV group Premiere had already registered for the new rights tender which starts on October, 31.
Premiere, which lost out on the Bundesliga rights in the last tender but struck a deal with victor Arena, is counting on winning this time to lure more customers. According to media reports, the DFL is also discussing a plan under which a match of the day would be played early on Saturday evening, the time when free-TV broadcaster ARD traditionally runs match highlights.
