Our take on the Bundesliga handing UK broadcast rights to That’s Football with Mark Goldbridge, Burnley FC launching an Innovation Hub, and how clubs and leagues are reshaping global sport.
YouTuber Mark Goldbridge among Bundesliga’s UK broadcast partners for this season
The Bundesliga has become the first major European football league to award part of its live broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom to a content creator, with That’s Football — a channel hosted by the online personality Mark Goldbridge — to show matches this season.
Our Take:
The UK is one of the toughest football media markets: the premier league dominates and other global properties like the UEFA Champions League command huge attention. To carve out relevance and counter the flattening of media deals, the DFL cannot simply replicate a traditional rights play. By handing 20 Friday night games to Mark Goldbridge’s "That’s Football" and The Overlap, alongside partnerships with Sky (Saturday), Amazon (Sunday PPV), and the BBC (Friday FTA), the DFL has built a layered media footprint that mixes mainstream exposure with new digital access points.
This blend of FTA and influencer channels is designed as a sandbox for experimentation. It is not just about testing whether Friday night Bundesliga games can attract the casual fan, but whether pairing live rights with familiar fan voices can accelerate conversion. Audiences who may not seek German football through Sky or Amazon might still be drawn in through trusted creator-driven platforms.
Timing is also critical. The Bundesliga’s visibility in the UK has risen with English stars abroad — from Jadon Sancho’s early breakthrough in Dortmund, to Jude and Jobe Bellingham’s rise, and now Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich. The league is seizing this momentum to embed itself more deeply in the British sporting psyche. Yet this is about more than fighting for recognition against the Premier League. The real battleground is broader: disruptive formats such as the Baller League UK, Kings League, SailGP or even more established ones like the UFC are capturing attention with entertainment-first approaches. If the Bundesliga does not move quickly, these challengers could cement themselves in the minds of younger fans.
Eventually, all stakeholders gain:
Goldbridge diversifies his content offering with premium rights, unlocking new monetisation avenues
BBC adds accessible premium football to its digital mix
Amazon and the DFL see their partnership continue through innovative streaming formats
Sky secures consistency for its established Bundesliga audience
At a macro level, the key question is how premium rights holders should approach their international media strategy. As we explored in our work on content localisation and media rights consultancy (read 1001xLaLiga story here), success depends not only on carving out rights for local broadcasters but also on considering reach and relevance, particularly by tapping into Gen Z and Gen Alpha through FTA and creator-driven channels. Fan acquisition starts now, and building connections with the next generation is a long-term play. In parallel, the DFL is working to professionalise its innovation processes, supported by AI-driven trend monitoring and structured funnels that turn emerging signals into actionable opportunities — an initiative we are proud to support in partnership with Trensition. In this context, rights distribution becomes part of a systematised innovation agenda, designed to anticipate where fan attention is shifting and act early.
We’re also seeing this trend beyond Germany. In France, streamer Zack Nani (618k Twitch followers, 883k YouTube subscribers) recently secured Saudi Pro League rights, after the competition struggled to cut through on Canal+ (averaging just 15,000 viewers early in 2023/24). Rights holders are recognising that distribution through creators is no longer an experiment; it’s becoming a legitimate layer of the media mix.
By blending global broadcasters, local free-to-air exposure, and creator platforms, the DFL is exploring how to balance revenue, reach, and relevance while also safeguarding against disruption from new sports formats. For premium rights holders, the message is clear: loyalty is built early, and the future battleground for fans' attention is already here.
Key takeaways
Pairing live rights with a trusted creator voice is a way to convert casual attention into a viewing habit, not just a reach play. Mark Goldbridge's audience already exists; the Bundesliga is borrowing it rather than building one from scratch.
Timing the deal to a wave of English interest in German football, from Jadon Sancho to the Bellingham brothers to Harry Kane, turns a broadcast decision into a fan acquisition strategy aimed at the next generation of viewers.
Leagues that treat creator platforms as one layer in a wider distribution mix, alongside traditional broadcasters, build more resilience against entertainment-first formats such as Kings League or the Baller League UK competing for the same young audience.
FAQ
What does the Bundesliga's deal with Mark Goldbridge mean for other leagues selling broadcast rights?
It shows leagues that creator-led channels can reach fans who never watch Sky or Amazon, turning a rights deal into a tool for building the next generation of viewers rather than just a source of short-term revenue.Why is the Bundesliga awarding UK rights to a content creator instead of only traditional broadcasters?
The UK market is dominated by the Premier League and the Champions League, so the Bundesliga needs channels that already hold a trusted audience to cut through. Mark Goldbridge's fanbase gives it direct access to fans who follow him rather than a traditional TV schedule.What is driving European leagues to rethink broadcast strategy as entertainment-first formats grow? Formats such as Kings League, the Baller League UK and SailGP are competing for the same young audience with entertainment-first content, pushing leagues to experiment with creator partnerships before those formats take hold.
Burnley FC launches innovation hub to pilot next-gen sports tech
The combined business will be best equipped to deliver for sports, media, and entertainment clients through a compelling and comprehensive range of digital experiences.
Our take: The launch of Burnley FC’s Innovation Hub is part of a much broader wave in sport, one that has been building for more than a decade. The foundations of sports innovation ecosystems were laid as far back as 2010-2015 with the launch of multiple initiatives such as R/GA Global Sports Venture Studio. Shortly after, major initiatives began to emerge, including the leAD Sports Accelerator in 2017 and the UEFA Innovation Hub in 2018, among others.
What is different now is the scale and spread. In 2025 alone, PSG launched PSG Labs, the IOC unveiled Olympism365 Innovation Hub, and Fanatics established its own sports innovation centre. Moreover, innovation is no longer the exclusive domain of governing bodies or Tier 1 organisations, as mentioned above. Tier 2 and Tier 3 organisations, including individual clubs, are recognising both the necessity and the opportunity of structured innovation programs. Celta Vigo launched Celta Labs, Southampton ran its Future of Football Challenge, Sporting Braga launched SCB Innovation Hub, and now Burnley joins this growing list.
For us, this expansion highlights two key shifts in the industry:
Innovation confirms to be a strategic necessity: sports organisations face intensifying competition for fan attention, new digital consumption habits, and rising operational costs. Innovation hubs provide a mechanism to explore fresh ideas, test technologies, and diversify revenues. For many clubs, this can be the solution to sustaining growth, creating value, and securing long-term resilience. Similarly to data, “innovation debt” proves to be of paramount importance - The less you invest in it, the more likely to be disrupted and left behind with a widening gap as the months/years go by.
Models are evolving, and capital is moving in. Earlier innovation efforts were largely community- or pilot-driven. Today, we see more hybrid models that combine accelerators with investment arms, mirroring what we’ve long seen in finance and other industries. The NBA Launchpad, City Football Group’s venture team, and the MLS Innovation Lab are prime examples of this MCO (Multi-Club Ownership) models and the growing PE/VC money invested in sports over the past years have played a key role.
In Burnley’s case, the Innovation Hub appears to be backed by ALK Capital, which completed its investment in the club through its sports investment arm, Velocity Sports Partners (VSP). This suggests the initiative is not merely a communications exercise but rather a vehicle for real business impact. While startups will leverage Burnley’s Premier League platform as a laboratory for validation and visibility, the club will have access to next-generation technologies that support its sporting and commercial ambitions. This mirrors the UK investment fund Sport Republic, which has acquired Southampton FC, alongside a few other clubs in other territories, and has developed an innovation scheme to best source, pilot, and invest in companies that drive direct business value to its clubs' portfolio.
Ultimately, innovation hubs will only succeed if they are embedded into the organisation’s core strategy, with pilots tied to measurable outcomes and clear pathways to scale. And Burnley’s move signals that innovation is no longer the privilege of global heavyweights. Every organisation, regardless of size or tier, now has the tools to take part. Those who fail to engage risk missing out on shaping the future of sport, and on the new business models it will inevitably create.
Key takeaways
Innovation hubs are no longer a badge reserved for the biggest clubs and federations. Smaller clubs are building them because the cost of not innovating grows every year they wait.
The shift from pilot programmes to hubs backed by an ownership group's investment arm shows innovation becoming a genuine business function, not a communications exercise.
A hub only creates value when it is tied to the club's core strategy with measurable outcomes. Without that link, it risks becoming another initiative that looks good in a press release.
FAQ
What does Burnley FC's innovation hub mean for smaller clubs considering their own innovation programme?
It shows that innovation hubs are no longer reserved for the biggest clubs. Backed by an ownership group's investment arm, a hub can give a Premier League platform to startups while giving the club early access to new technology.Why are sports innovation hubs increasingly backed by investment arms rather than run as pilot programmes?
Investment-backed hubs, such as Burnley's link to ALK Capital's Velocity Sports Partners, treat innovation as a business function with capital behind it. That makes it more likely a pilot turns into technology the club actually uses.What is the main risk for a club launching an innovation hub?
It only works if it is tied to the club's core strategy with clear, measurable outcomes. Without that link, it risks becoming a PR exercise rather than a source of real business value.
LaSource is a sports consulting agency working closely with startups, tech innovators, and major sports organisations to accelerate growth, shape strategy, and unlock new commercial pathways