If you think this Transfer Window was difficult

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Wait until next year, the Budesliga 1&2 clubs will have more TV money to spend!From Raphael Honistein in todays Guardian.League chief Christian Seifert has managed to increase the value of

the domestic TV rights by 85%, securing an annual income of €1.16bn from

the 2017-18 season onwards. It’s still only half of the Premier

League’s value and has to be divided among the 36 clubs in Bundesliga

and Bundesliga 2 but the increased demand shows Bayern’s hegemony – and

Dortmund’s perceived stranglehold of second spot – does not deter

viewers.

While a wider range of championship contenders would undoubtedly help

the brand internationally, the bigger concern inside Germany is still

the proliferation of small clubs without strong fanbases at the expense

of giants fallen or sleeping. If clubs such as Hamburg, Werder, Köln and

Schalke do not make the most of their considerable resources, the

clamour for external investment will grow.

By and large, the Bundesliga has been able to deal with the

challenges of football’s rapid globalisation rather well by focusing on

stadium experience and the production of players to keep down transfer

spending but their largely organic, slow way of doing business could

come under threat during the next wave of Chinese-driven takeovers in

England and Italy.