Bundesliga fans in the UK and Ireland can watch Friday night’s season opener between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart via a new streaming service: Former England national team player Jamie Vardy has acquired a rights package and is streaming the match on YouTube.
Following the expiration of his contract with US Cremonese in Italy, Jamie Vardy has branched out into a new line of business. As the Bundesliga announced on Friday morning, the 39-year-old forward, together with Banijay Entertainment, has acquired a portion of the Bundesliga TV rights for the United Kingdom and Ireland for the 2026–27 season. The agreement applies to Vardy’s YouTube channel “Vardy is having a party,” where the 26-time national team striker typically posts podcast episodes, and includes the rights to seven live broadcasts.
As early as this Friday evening, the 2016 English champion will make use of this for the first time and broadcast the opening match between FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart. This is made possible by an agreement for a “more comprehensive partnership with the media and entertainment group Banijay Entertainment, which—through Banijay UK and its label Workerbee—will produce the Bundesliga live show featuring Vardy and other guests, offering reactions, insights, and discussions surrounding some of Germany’s biggest soccer matches,” according to a statement from the Bundesliga. “Vardy is having a party” is owned and produced by Banijay Entertainment.
“Fans no longer just want to watch soccer; they want to experience it with people they already know and trust,” said Rick Murray, CEO of Workerbee. “Jamie has built an incredible community around the podcast, and thanks to our Bundesliga partnership, we can bring this audience closer to some truly big games.”
“Our approach is as diverse as our fans,” explains Peer Naubert, Chief Commercial Officer of the Bundesliga. “The soccer audience is changing, and there isn’t just one way to experience the Bundesliga. Our job is to understand each market, work with the right partners, and develop a distribution model that matches how fans actually consume soccer locally.”
Six providers broadcast the Bundesliga in the UK and Ireland
Broadcasting rights for the Bundesliga in the UK and Ireland are distributed among a total of six providers. Sky Sports broadcasts all the top matches on Saturday evenings, while Sunday matches are shown on Prime Video. The BBC and Samsung TV Plus offer Friday night matches, while the YouTube channels “That’s Football” and “Vardy is having a party” provide 15 and seven matches, respectively, as “watch-along” streams.