Sky Deutschland Shares Soar On Reports Of Soccer Deal

COLOGNE, Germany - Shares in Rupert Murdoch’s German pay TV operation Sky Deutschland shot up more than 21 percent to €2.43 Tuesday morning on media reports that Sky has secured a deal for rights to Germany’s Bundesliga soccer league for another four years.

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News Corp.'s Sky Deutschland, Deutsche Telekom Face Off on Bundesliga Soccer Deal

According to the unconfirmed reports from German tabloid Bild, Sky has retained live pay TV rights for the first and second divisions of the Bundesliga for the 2013 through 2017 seasons. According to Bild, Deutsche Telekom, which had been bidding against Sky for pay TV, will have to make do with Internet and mobile rights to the Bundesliga matches. Telekom shares were trading up slightly early Tuesday at €8.62.

The 36 professional soccer clubs that make up the Bundesliga’s first and second divisions have to approve the auction but that is usually just a formality. Bild did not give a price tag for the rights but it’s been reported that the German Soccer League was asking more than $650 million (€500 million) a season for all Bundesliga rights. The League will announce the results of the auction later today.