THE GERMAN Bundesliga announced a range of broadcast options for viewers in Britain last week, sparking debate around how football is televised and, by extension, around the future of TV broadcasting generally.

One major development of the new deal sees some Bundesliga games being shown on the BBC, though for now they will be shown on its online services rather than on its TV channels. The BBC joins Sky Sports and Amazon among the league’s broadcasters in Britain and Ireland.

Another part of the deal that has caught the eye is the league’s move to broadcasting on YouTube. Two channels on the platform — The Overlap, founded by Gary Neville, and That’s Football, run by YouTuber Mark Goldbridge — will show games each week

Last night’s season opener between Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig was shown on the BBC iPlayer and website as well as those YouTube channels, while Saturday night’s game between St Pauli and Borussia Dortmund will be on Sky. Amazon will show Sunday games, but even if you are already an Amazon Prime subscriber, you will still have to pay an additional £2.49 per game.

Sky Sports held Bundesliga rights in Britain for the past four seasons, and though its coverage improved during that time, the attention it gave to the league often felt like an afterthought.

Part of the criticism was that it didn’t show enough games via its linear channels, and instead, the games were on YouTube or accessed via an app or red button. However, even with its new deals ahead of the 2025/26 season, the Bundesliga remains very much online rather than on TV.

Ironically, Sky Sports is now the only one of these broadcasters that looks set to show games on a traditional, linear TV channel, as this weekend’s Saturday night St Pauli vs Borussia Dortmund Topspiel is scheduled to be shown on Sky Sports Football. It will also show highlights packages and other “shoulder programming” during the week.

The lines between online streaming and TV are becoming increasingly blurred, though.

BBC iPlayer is available on smart TVs via an app, making iPlayer itself more like a TV channel. The app is also available via the numerous other ways people watch TV — whether that be through Sky or Virgin Media, or app-based devices such as Roku or Amazon Fire TV.

YouTube is also becoming more and more popular as a TV channel in its own right. Again, as with BBC iPlayer, this is down to the increased use of apps to access shows and live broadcasts, and the YouTube app’s increased availability on TVs, streaming devices, and set-top boxes.

The stats back this up. In many regions, more people now watch YouTube via their TVs than on mobile devices, and anyone who runs a YouTube channel will have noticed this gradual increase in people viewing their output on the bigger screen.

The Bundesliga hopes to take advantage of this.

The Overlap’s YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers, while Goldbridge’s That’s Football has just under 1.4 million.

Even though Goldbridge is on record disparaging the Bundesliga, once commenting that “the German league is shit” as he questioned Dayot Upamecano’s decision to join Bayern Munich over Manchester United in 2021, it appears that his subscriber numbers mean all is quickly forgiven on that front.

“Our approach is as diverse as our supporters,” said Bundesliga international CEO, Peer Naubert, as the deals were announced last week.

“By combining established broadcasters with digital platforms and content creators, we are taking a progressive step in how top-level football can be experienced.

“This multilayered strategy allows us to connect with more audiences across the UK and Ireland, giving every supporter the chance to engage with football as it’s meant to be in the way that suits them best.”

It comes at a time when many British broadcasters seem uncertain as to the benefits of showing games from the continent.

Gone are the days of Sky’s Revista de La Liga and BT Sport’s European Football Show, when coverage went beyond the matches themselves and was followed up with expert analysis and comment on the storylines surrounding them.

Though leagues are still shown on various platforms, they are not as readily available as before, when one or two subscriptions would offer access to top-level leagues across Europe.

Now, someone wanting to watch Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga would need to pay for subscriptions to Sky Sports, Amazon Prime, DAZN, Premier Sports, Ligue 1 Pass, and TNT Sports.

Though some Bundesliga games are exclusive to those Sky and Amazon subscription or pay-per-view services, deals with the BBC and YouTube channels have seen the league also go down the route of finding a larger audience that isn’t blocked by a paywall.

Games from the 2. Bundesliga are also available for free via the league’s YouTube channel, offering access to one of the best second-tier leagues in the world, which regularly showcases the kind of fan culture German football is known for.

In the top tier, viewers can look out for star players such as Michael Olise, Jamal Musiala, and Luis Diaz, who might already be familiar to British audiences, while there is also the next generation of talent, including players such as Antonio Nusa, Tom Bischof, and Can Uzun.

There is also British interest, primarily English, which could make a case for the BBC moving games to one of its main channels later in the season. Harry Kane at Bayern Munich is the obvious one, but there is also Jarrell Quansah at Bayer Leverkusen, and Jobe Bellingham following in the footsteps of his brother Jude at Borussia Dortmund.

The Bundesliga diversifying its broadcast partners in such a way means everyone will have access to some games in the league this season, but that doesn’t always mean people will watch them.

As viewing numbers are readily available on YouTube, and the BBC often release their own figures, it will be a good measure of the appetite for top-level continental football in Britain, as well as an indication as to what the future of football on TV might look like.