Christian Siefert, the former chief of the German football league (DFL) has teamed up with publisher Axel Springer to launch a new streaming platform focused on German sports leagues and events other than football.
The new service is set for launch in the autumn of 2023, with the aim of attracting sports fans by bundling league rights and events in a single offering.
Axel Springer said that the new venture aims to increase awareness and interest in sports including handball, basketball and ice-hockey. The company said the offering would be available as a direct-to-consumer service and via existing platforms.
While Seifert is named as the founder, Axel Springer will have a majority stake in the new streaming outfit. Seifert will serve as managing partner, but the streamer will also recruit a CEO and COO. The brand name under which the service will operate will be revealed alter this year.
Seifert, who headed the DFL from 2005 until last year, set up his own holding company, Reedstreet Ventures, after leaving the sports body..
“Germany is a nation of sports fans, millions of whom are enthusiastic about types of sports beyond soccer. We want to offer this large sports community a new home, as it were, in our new streaming portal. To this end, we will be offering attractive cooperation opportunities to numerous sports leagues and associations. Axel Springer has always had a keen interest in the German sporting world and, thanks to its experience in the implementation of complex digital projects as well as its great strength in the marketing and distribution of digital offerings, is the ideal partner for this ambitious undertaking,” said Siefert.
“Sport belongs to Axel Springer, and is an area we have committed to invest in more and achieve more growth in. We are now bringing together the strengths of Axel Springer as a media and tech company with the outstanding experience and proven capabilities of Christian Seifert. Our joint media enterprise offers our future partners a unique platform,” said Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer.