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FanCode replaces Star as Bundesliga rights-holder in India
Online sports platform FanCode has acquired exclusive rights in India to German football's Bundesliga.
The Dream Sports-owned platform has signed a multi-year rights deal with Bundesliga International, the league's international commercial rights arm, ahead of the start of the new season later today (Friday).
Under the agreement, FanCode will stream exclusive coverage in India of every single Bundesliga match, as well as the German Supercup. The deal also covers highlights packages, news, live blog commentary and fantasy research resources.
FanCode replaces pay-television broadcaster Star India as the Bundesliga's rights-holder in the country.
Star held exclusive Bundesliga rights in India for five years, from 2015-16 to 2019-20, with the deal also covering Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The rights were previously held by pay-television broadcaster Neo Sports (until the end of the 2014-15 season).
The Bundesliga has an existing relationship with Dream Sports, whose Dream11 platform serves as the league's official fantasy sport partner.
Commenting on the new deal with FanCode, Robert Klein, chief executive of Bundesliga International, said: "India is one of the largest and fastest markets for digital growth and this opportunity to utilise FanCode was a key factor in our decision making.
"By working in partnership with FanCode, we are able to reach over 100 million highly engaged sports fans through the Dream Sports ecosystem, and we are excited to use the highly innovative and interactive FanCode platform to reach more Bundesliga and sports fans in India than ever before."
The deal with FanCode comes after the Bundesliga earlier this week signed off on new broadcast deals in Singapore, South Korea and Thailand.
Long-term deals were agreed with StarHub, the Singaporean telco and pay-television broadcaster, KBS, the public broadcaster in South Korea, and PPTV HD 36, the Thai digital terrestrial broadcaster owned by Bangkok Media and Broadcasting. All three deals take effect from 2020-21 onwards with the contract in Thailand running for five seasons.
FanCode's Bundesliga deal continues the platform's recent rights drive, with the platform last month signing deals to cover Major League Baseball and the Caribbean Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament. The MLB deal is a multi-year agreement, while the CPL deal covered the recently concluded 2020 edition of the tournament.
FanCode's rights portfolio also includes the NFL American football league and the NBA basketball league.
FanCode also recently added an online sports merchandise store to its multi-sport aggregator platform. FanCode Shop began by introducing official licensed merchandise of India's biggest homegrown sports brands – the six Indian Premier League cricket teams – Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, and Kings XI Punjab.
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