In a move that is anything but typical in European soccer, Jamie Vardy has acquired the broadcasting rights to Bundesliga matches, with his YouTube channel set to live-stream seven German league games this upcoming season.

The channel of the former Leicester and England national team forward, “Jamie Vardy’s Having a Party,” will broadcast seven Bundesliga games, all on Friday nights, starting with the season opener between defending champion Bayern Munich and Stuttgart.

The one-year deal was brokered through Banijay Entertainment, which is producing Vardy’s channel. As a result, the 39-year-old former international officially becomes one of the Bundesliga’s broadcasters in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

The Bundesliga Paves the Way for Content Creators

This move isn’t entirely new for the Bundesliga, which since last year has chosen to grant live match rights to content creators on YouTube, in an effort to reach younger audiences and fans who do not typically watch traditional soccer broadcasts.

Last season, The Overlap and Mark Goldbridge’s That’s Football channel handled the broadcasts of Friday’s matches. For the new season, Goldbridge is sticking with this format, while Vardy is taking over for The Overlap.

The initiative appears to have already paid off. Goldbridge’s first broadcast, last season’s Bayern Munich vs. Leipzig match, drew 236,000 viewers, showing the Bundesliga that content creators can serve as a different channel for reaching the audience.

And Vardy, even though his channel is still in its early stages and has about 11,000 subscribers, is now being called upon to bring his own audience to the Bundesliga.

From the Field to YouTube

This new venture comes at a time when Vardy is without a team. After 13 years at Leicester, he played for Cremonese last season, scoring 7 goals in 29 appearances, though he was unable to prevent the team’s relegation from Serie A.

Now, at 39, Vardy is starting a new chapter in his career. And from being a star on the field, he will now also be… behind the cameras, broadcasting matches from one of Europe’s top leagues.

The Bundesliga, for its part, continues to invest in a different broadcasting model, with the goal of becoming more accessible and appearing on platforms and in communities where it traditionally had no presence.

*photo source: AP