Fox Sports' Bundesliga coverage began with Bayern's 5-0 mauling of Hamburg. Kerstin Joensson/AP (file photo) |
By J.P. Marquez
TAGUIG--Fox Sports and the German football league Bundelisga will be together for a long time as the channel sealed the deal to acquire the broadcasting rights with the Deutsche Fußball Liga GmbH for five years.
On Tuesday night, the cable TV network launched the said partnership in the Philippines through a press conference at Vyne Restaurant.
Bundesliga has the highest in-arena attendance with an average of roughly 45,000 spectators per match.
Fox Sports will air five to six live matches per week. The channel started to telecast the Bundesliga on Saturday. Defending champion Bayern Munich defeated Hamburg, 5-0, in the season opener.
[Related Story: Bayern smothers Hamburg in Bundesliga opener]
[Related Story: Bayern smothers Hamburg in Bundesliga opener]
Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fox International Channel Philippines Jude Turcuato said that Bundelisga is something they prepared for a long time and it is one of the only the properties of the channel to get all over the world.
"Its the first property, where we can share all of the marketing materials, all the promotions," Turcuato said.
As for the other football leagues like Serie A of Italy, Ligue 1 of France and others, Turcuato told that this will take a case-to-case basis because the rights of football leagues especially outside of the Philippines is very difficult to get.
When asked about bringing German clubs in the Philippines following Bayern Munich and Dortmund's Asian tour during the preseason, the former sportscaster said that it is possible depending on how the crowd will accept the teams.
"It's a matter of how much passion, how much interest and then how much people really want the teams to come. If the coverage does elevate the popularity of the league, then it makes sense for them to come here," he continued.
Turcuato also mentioned that the Bundesliga is one of their stepping stone in providing and helping the popularity of the sports in the country.