German pay-TV operator, Premiere agreed a deal to sublicense the rights for up to 18 live matches of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to German commercial broadcaster RTL.

The deal means that all matches of the tournament will be shown on free-to-air, with public broadcasters ARD and ZDF screening the remainder.

Premiere won the rights to broadcast all 64 World Cup games live on pay-TV in Germany and Austria in June 2005. The rights package includes the 18 games, which public broadcasters ARD and ZDF will not screen and which would have been available exclusive to Premiere subscribers.

The pay-TV broadcaster did not explain the reason for its decision to relinquish its exclusive contingent of the Cup matches, but spoke of a “very good economic result” achieved through the deal with RTL. Financial details were not revealed.