The Bundesliga, Germany’s top soccer league, made its comeback last weekend after a 66-day hiatus due to the pandemic and it achieved really positive viewing figures for Sky Deutschland and the league’s international broadcasters. In detail, Sky Deutschland said that a combined 3.81 million viewers tuned in on its linear channels and Sky Go OTT platform on May 16 – including 2.45 million viewers for the free-to-air Konferenz show on Sky Sports News HD.
The most-viewed match domestically was Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke, which according to Sky was watched by millions. Meanwhile, the match between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt drew 789,000 viewers.
“We are grateful that we were able to entertain an audience of millions with the Bundesliga. We are extremely satisfied with the comeback,” said Jacques Raynaud, Head of Sports and Marketing at Sky Deutschland. “The outstanding ratings show that our program concept worked out perfectly and that the viewers inquired about the special TV experience on Sky with fan comments, additional feeds and audio options. The most important thing was that safety was paramount for everyone involved,” he added.
In the UK, BT Sport – which had heavily promoted its coverage in the build up to the return – attracted an audience five times larger than that of the season’s highest performing Bundesliga game so far. The broadcaster said that its digital viewing reached levels seen for some Premier League games this season.
In Italy, Sky Italia’s coverage of the league attracted 400,000 viewers with Borussia Dortmund vs. Schalke, grabbing a 1.2% Italian market share (155,000 viewers). The return of the Bundesliga has even achieved record ratings in the United States, where Fox Sports saw record viewership and registered its top two metered market ratings in the history of its German football coverage.
The most important thing was that safety was paramount for everyone involved” Jacques Raynaud Head of Sports and Marketing at Sky Deutschland
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