Eutelsat passes on Bundesliga rights

Contrary to earlier indications, satellite operator Eutelsat has stated that it will not submit a tender bid for the TV rights to Germany's domestic football league Bundesliga. "We have been interested in the Bundesliga rights to obtain information and decided not to participate in the tender", Martina Rutenbeck, managing director of Eutelsat visAvision, revealed to Rapid TV News. She didn't elaborate on the reasons for the decision. Earlier, it became known that Eutelsat showed an interest in the tender for the rights period from 2013 to 2017 which will commence this week. Germany's national football league Deutsche Fußball-Liga (DFL) wants to finalise the rights allocation by mid-May 2012.