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The broadcast rights of the German professional football Bundesliga in the UK have been handed over to individual YouTubers for the first time this year.
According to The Athletic, a sports media outlet, on the 21st (Korea time), British soccer YouTuber Mark Goldbridge has secured the official broadcast rights to broadcast 20 live Bundesliga Friday games in the 2025-2026 season.
Bundesliga matches are usually played between Friday and Sunday local time.
For the past four years, Eurosport channel Sky Sports has exclusively broadcasted all games in the UK, but the end of the contract will put down the monopoly. Under the new deal, Sky Sports will only retain the right to broadcast Saturday’s game.
Friday’s game will be broadcast free of charge by Goldbridge and British public broadcaster BBC, while Sunday’s game will be offered for a fee via Amazon Prime Video.
Goldbridge has been running the soccer YouTube channel “The United Stand” since 2014 and is a popular creator with 2.15 million subscribers.
This season’s Bundesliga match will be broadcast on another YouTube channel run by Goldbridge, “Dots Football,” and will be available simultaneously on British public broadcaster BBC.
This is the first time that the European big league has allowed individual YouTubers the right to broadcast directly.
However, there have been recent cases of cooperation with digital media other than traditional broadcasters. Spain’s professional football La Liga signed a three-year contract with British sports podcast channel “The Rest is Football” earlier this month, giving it exclusive rights to officially provide highlights of all league games.
Bundesliga International Pier Norbert said, “We have created a further viewing environment by combining traditional broadcasters and content creators,” adding, “I hope more fans can enjoy the game in a way that suits them.”
“This innovative partnership will greatly increase the accessibility of fans not only in the UK but also around the world,” said Keegan Pierce, director of international cooperation in La Liga.
