Premiere can show Bundesliga via broadband

The German pay-TV company Premiere can now show Bundesliga soccer matches after all. Deutsche Telekom and Premiere have agreed on a cooperation. Under this agreement, the pay-TV provider will be able to show Bundesliga matches using the IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) television standard. At the end of 2005, Premiere lost the bidding battle for the live rights to the Bundesliga to fellow bidder Arena. The fact that the provider can now broadcast live matches after all is due to the fact that Telekom, as the holder of the online rights, has granted Premiere a corresponding sub-license for broadcasts in the IP standard. This makes Premiere the first German TV company to be able to broadcast the Bundesliga live via Telekom's broadband networks as part of T-Home, according to a press release. The agreement covers the 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 seasons. 612 matches will be broadcast live in the 2006/07 season. Premiere will be responsible for the Bundesliga broadcasts in terms of editorial and media law. In addition to the Bundesliga, the company's entire program will be available as an IPTV service on T-Online's T-Home platform from summer 2006. This means that Premiere can also be received via broadband networks in future.