German 2. Bundesliga on TV Today
Where to Stream German 2. Bundesliga Live
Where to watch German 2. Bundesliga online: The premium networks and streaming platforms below hold the official broadcast rights to air live matches.
About German 2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga is the second tier of professional soccer in Germany. It's an 18-team competition that runs from August through May. The league is known for massive crowds, historic clubs, and the brutal fight for promotion. The regular season is in the final stretch, with promotion and relegation battles coming down to the wire.
Top teams
The 2. Bundesliga is packed with fallen giants. Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, Hertha BSC, and Nürnberg have all won the Bundesliga in the past. These clubs still draw massive crowds — Hamburg regularly sells out the Volksparkstadion, which holds over 50,000. Other big clubs like Hannover 96, Fortuna Düsseldorf, and Kaiserslautern are also in the mix. The league is top-heavy, but the promotion race usually goes down to the final weeks. Only two teams go up automatically. The third-place team plays a playoff against the 16th-place team from the Bundesliga.
Format
The league has 18 teams. Each plays each other twice. The top two teams are promoted automatically to the Bundesliga. The third-place team plays a two-leg playoff against the 16th-place team from the Bundesliga for the final promotion spot. The bottom two teams are relegated directly to the 3. Liga. The 16th-place team plays a relegation playoff against the third-place team from the 3. Liga. The format is unforgiving. Every match matters.
Viewership
The 2. Bundesliga pulls over 40 million viewers globally each season. The numbers are strongest in Germany, where the big clubs have massive followings. Hamburg, Schalke, and Hertha matches draw audiences that rival top-flight games. The promotion playoff draws the biggest audience of the season. International interest comes from fans of clubs that have fallen from the Bundesliga and want to see them return.
Streaming options in Germany
In Germany, Sky Deutschland and WOW (formerly Sky Ticket) show all matches live. RTL and RTL+ hold free-to-air rights for top matches. There's a mix of pay-TV and free-to-air coverage, with Sky as the primary broadcaster.
Streaming options in the US
In the US, ESPN+ holds the exclusive rights to all 2. Bundesliga matches, providing live streams and on-demand coverage, often with English commentary. FuboTV also offers access to ESPN's Bundesliga 2 coverage.
Streaming options in Canada
In Canada, DAZN has an extended partnership to stream all 2. Bundesliga matches across all DAZN platforms for the 2025-26 season.
Streaming options in the UK and Ireland
In the UK and Ireland, coverage is split across multiple platforms. Sky Sports and NOW continue as key partners for matches. Prime Video holds rights to Sunday matches on a pay-per-view basis. BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport stream all Friday night matches for free. Select Friday matches are also shown on YouTube channels like The Overlap and That's Football.
Streaming options in Europe
Coverage varies across Europe. In the Nordics, Baltics, Poland, and the Netherlands, Viaplay is the primary broadcaster. In Italy, Sky Italia holds the rights through 2029. In Eastern Europe, Setanta Sports covers Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, while Nova Sport covers Czech Republic and Slovakia.
International streaming options
In Brazil, OneFootball offers all matches, while CazéTV on YouTube and Twitch shows top matchups. In Latin America, ESPN and Disney+ provide coverage. In the Middle East and North Africa, MBC Group holds the rights. In Australia and Southeast Asia, beIN Sports is the broadcaster. In South Korea, Coupang Play holds the rights.
Current season
The 2025-26 2. Bundesliga season kicked off in August 2025. The regular season runs through May. Schalke 04 and Hamburger SV are the early favorites for promotion. Hertha BSC, Nürnberg, and Hannover 96 are also in the mix. The relegation battle is tight at the bottom. The season wraps up in May, with the promotion playoff against the 16th-place Bundesliga team in late May.
Recently Completed Matches
Review the final scores and details for recently concluded German 2. Bundesliga broadcasts below.
