Overview

• The season opens Friday at 20:30 CEST with Bayern vs. RB Leipzig, shown free on Sat.1 and streamed on ran.de and Joyn, with Sky and WOW carrying the pay-TV feed.
• Bayern sporting director Max Eberl said the league remains attractive, arguing departures reflect the Premier League’s and Saudi clubs’ superior spending power and TV income.
• High-profile sales out of Germany include Florian Wirtz to Liverpool for about €125–150 million, Hugo Ekitiké to Liverpool for roughly €95 million, and Benjamin Sesko to Manchester United for around €80 million.
• Bayern enter with a revamped front line of Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Díaz, but face depth questions after Jamal Musiala’s Club‑World‑Cup injury and Thomas Müller’s move to Vancouver.
• The DFL’s new cycle keeps marquee free-TV windows such as the opener while splitting core rights between Sky and DAZN, as the league touts nearly 12 million tickets sold and about €5.87 billion in turnover last season.