Axel Springer offers new streaming service for sports

The Axel Springer media group is working on a streaming service for sporting events. Together with former DFL managing director Christian Seifert, the service is to be launched as early as next year.

Axel Springer plans streaming service for sports events

The planned streaming service for sporting events does not yet have a name. However, the service, which is backed by media group Axel Springer and former DFL CEO Christian Seifert, is expected to launch as early as fall 2023.

The streaming platform is to be tailored specifically to the German market and wants to focus on sports beyond soccer. Various leagues and important individual sporting events are to be shown, according to the press release.

Handball, basketball and ice hockey

“For this purpose, the audiovisual rights of attractive leagues and sporting events are to be bundled into a single media offering for the first time, the group writes. At the same time, they want to “significantly increase the perception and appreciation of sports such as handball, basketball and ice hockey”with high-quality production standards and intensive marketing.

It is unclear whether the focus will be solely on German leagues and competitions or whether successful US offshoots such as the NBA or NHL will also be included in the portfolio.

But it is probably also a question of cost. After all, licenses in soccer are not exactly cheap, and the market is particularly fiercely competitive. This was recently demonstrated by the example of streaming provider DAZN, which doubled the price of a subscription just a few days ago. This led to displeasure among fans and subscribers.

“Germany is a sports-mad nation, with millions of fans interested in sports other than soccer. We want to offer this large sports community a new home with our streaming portal,” comments founder and managing partner Christian Seifert on the announcement of the streaming service. Seifert had resigned from his position at the German Football League (DFL) on 01 January 2022.