BREAKING: U.S. Bundesliga Broadcasting Rights Set to Go To ESPN +

Fans of Bayern Munich and other Bundesliga teams will need to start saving up to watch coverage of their favorite teams.

According to a report from the New York Post, ESPN has bought the rights to broadcast the Bundesliga on its ESPN+ streaming service starting with the 2020-21 season. This will move broadcasting to ESPN from the Bundesliga’s previous distributor, Fox Sports.

The report from the Post (owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, a sister to Fox Corporation), has sources which say the deal will be exclusively on Plus, meaning many (if not all) matches will be subscribers-only. But, the deal is still in negotiation, so it’s possible a few games will be free to the public.

The second most popular league in the U.S. behind the Premier League (broadcast by NBC), the deal will have a major impact on the American audience. The financials and the length of contract are unknown.

If this deal goes through, it will be a massive get for ESPN, as it seeks to grow its online footprint. Meanwhile, while Fox didn’t get a high ratings boost from the league, it does trim their number of competitions down by a lot.

Expect my analysis on this deal coming later today.