Sports channel Dazn surprisingly loses an important sport

The NFL surprisingly terminated its pay-TV contract with Dazn early. For subscribers, this means the loss of a lot of content, including the ENDZN conference. However, the NFL Game Pass, which can also be seen via Dazn, remains unaffected by this step.

NFL ends pay-TV deal with Dazn

The National Football League (NFL) is causing a stir on the German sports market. The league has prematurely terminated its contract with the streaming service Dazn over “domestic pay rights”. The collaboration was originally scheduled to last until the Super Bowl in February 2028. However, those responsible used a contractual option to end the partnership after three years. This has a direct impact on the scope of the regular subscription.

The step significantly reduces the offer in the standard package. Previously, customers were able to consume various content at no additional cost, which is now no longer necessary. Specifically, this concerns the following formats:

• Exclusive individual games on Sunday evenings as well as the prime-time night games
• The popular German-language conference call ENDZN
• Co-exclusive rights to the entire postseason including the Super Bowl

According to information from Picture The contract was broken due to different ideas about the duration of the contract. The NFL wanted to extend a termination deadline that expired at the end of February 2026. The league wanted to give itself time to re-evaluate the value of the rights in the growing German market. Dazn rejected this postponement, whereupon the league formally announced the termination.

Game Pass is here to stay

The NFL Game Pass, which can be viewed via Dazn and costs extra (but does not require a Dazn subscription), remains unaffected by this sports rights quake. The separate offer, which shows all games live, is based on a global ten-year contract. It is no coincidence that the league is negotiating harder in Germany, as Germany is considered the most important growth market outside the USA.

The termination creates space for new alliances. Observers expect that RTL will try to secure the packages that have become available. The broadcaster already holds the free TV rights and could strengthen its paid offer RTL+. In the USA, the league has long been relying on fragmentation of rights, for example by selling “Thursday Night Football” to Amazon. A similar scenario is now also conceivable in this country.