In a move that observers are describing as an “almost desperate final attempt to win subscribers”, German media company Kirch-Group has decided to reduce the subscription fee sports fans have to pay for accessing the sports coverage on its digital platform Premiere World.

The pay-TV broadcaster was scheduled to announce at a press conference in Hamburg on Tuesday (July 11) that viewers only interested in sports events such as live Bundesliga football, Formula 1, boxing and tennis won’t be forced to subscribe to the premium movie package Movie World any more.

Until now, the “Sports World” package was bundled in with a subscription of the expensive movie option. This would have led to costs of up to DM100 a month in combination with the “season ticket” (DM299) for all pay-per-view Bundesliga games, in total more than DM1,000 a year – a financial hurdle not many football fans would have taken.