© EuroFootball.com
Yesterday was a happy day for German football clubs, as the paid TV channel "Premiere", which has almost three million viewers, acquired the rights to broadcast German Championship matches for the next two seasons.
Sources report that "Premiere" will pay 180 million euros per season (almost 622 million litas), which is a fifth more than what German clubs have received so far.
"Premiere" stated that an agreement was also reached regarding the broadcast of German Cup matches until 2007, but added that further negotiations were needed for one match on Friday evenings.
This agreement greatly pleased the Bundesliga clubs as they are facing financial difficulties: Dortmund's "Borussia" reduced player salaries by 20%, and the most famous German club, Munich's "Bayern", planned to do the same.
The rights to broadcast match highlights remained in the hands of free German television channels.
This agreement also allowed "Premiere" to be called the "Official Partner of the Bundesliga", and the German Cup will now be called the "Premiere Cup".
