Germany’s Bundesliga — featuring Harry Kane, Bayern Munich and United States stars like Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman — is moving its domestic rights from ESPN to a combination of USA Network and Fandango for $100 million over five seasons, sources briefed on the move told The Athletic.USA and Fandango are part of Versant, whose sports strategy continues to develop as a hub for quality rights that are below the zenith of the NFL and NBA. USA Network already has U.S. rights to some Premier League matches, which Bundesliga will complement.Fandango is known as the place to buy movie tickets in theaters, but Versant is attempting to transform it into more by offering films on its platform, and with this deal, live sports for the first time.All 300-plus Bundesliga games will air on either USA or Fandango. USA requires a subscription via cable or another provider, while Fandango does not and is ad-supported. If a game is on USA, it will not be on Fandango and vice versa.The exact number of matches between the two has not yet been figured out. USA is expected to have at least 30 games, starting with Kane’s Bayern Munich facing Borussia Dortmund in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Aug. 22. During that weekend, USA will air Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.The coverage will be provided predominantly from the world feed.ESPN previously held Bundesliga’s American rights on its ESPN+ subscription service. The Disney-owned ESPN paid $30 million per year.The Premier League, with its deals with NBC/Peacock and USA, receives around $450 million per year in American TV rights money.The decrease in the Bundesliga’s fees from $30 million to $20 million per year represents the changing climate for non-American football and NBA rights in the domestic landscape.Versant is trying to take advantage of what appears to be a rebalancing of the sports TV rights trend. With the overall American market at a little more than $30 billion per year, the NFL and NBA take more than two-thirds of the money, with the NFL the most dominant force in American TV, asking its partners to redo its deals for more money. This has left places like ESPN and other traditional players in the position to think about “must-have” properties and “nice to have” ones.
Bundesliga inks $100 million U.S. TV deal to air on USA Network and Fandango
Versant is adding live sports to a platform that most U.S. fans know best for purchasing movie tickets.






