In December 2023, the 36 clubs of the German Football League voted in a secret ballot to sell a share of a company holding their media rights to an investor. The deal needed a two-thirds majority, and it passed with exactly the 24 votes required. It was reported that the head of Hannover 96 had voted against his own club’s instruction. Fans protested in stadiums across the country with silence and with tennis balls and chocolate coins thrown onto the pitch. On 3 February 2024, a match between Hertha BSC and Hamburger SV was stopped for more than thirty minutes. On 21 February 2024, the league ended the process. Hans-Joachim Watzke, chairman of its supervisory board, said: Eine erfolgreiche Fortführung des Prozesses scheint in Anbetracht der aktuellen Entwicklungen nicht mehr möglich. (Given the current developments, a successful continuation of the process no longer seems possible.)