Robert Lewandowski scores many goals, but less and less on Saturday afternoon
Source: Getty Images / Sebastian Widmann
The number of viewers on TV is falling significantly in the Bundesliga, as our analysis shows. All broadcasters suffer, especially the “Sportschau” has a schedule problem. Sky can at least look forward to the second division.
Dhe Bundesliga is happy about the tension at the top of the table, but the view of the TV audience numbers is sobering. All top programs have to digest a decline, as a comparison with the 2019/20 season shows. At that time, the start was like 2021/22 in August, and spectators were allowed into the stadiums. That was different last season because of Corona.
The evaluation shows: The ARD “Sportschau” lost an average of 610,000 viewers on the first 13 days of play – the number fell from 4.55 to 3.94 million on average per broadcast. ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky (59) expects an increase over the course of the season, but also recognizes various causes for the decline.
“Basically, interest in football declined somewhat during the Corona period, and of course the relegation of traditional clubs such as FC Schalke 04, Werder Bremen or others can also play a role,” says Balkausky: “Of course, the audience’s interest also depends on the moments of tension in the league. “
FC Bayern only played four times at 3:30 p.m.
In fact, the previous schedule is not very ARD-friendly. The biggest odds maker plays too seldom on the classic game date. On 13 match days, FC Bayern only competed four times on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and for the first time ever it came on the fifth match day. The second big club, Borussia Dortmund, had seven afternoon appearances on Saturday. It only happened twice that both competed at the same time at 3:30 p.m., but there were already three game days on which neither Bayern nor BVB were currently in the “Sportschau”. This Saturday it will be the case for the fourth time, as the top dogs will compete against each other at 6.30 p.m. – in other words, parallel to the “Sportschau”.
According to Balkausky, one knows from experience that it can have an impact on interest if Dortmund and Bayern do not compete on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. “For this reason, we would of course like the DFL to schedule these clubs again on Saturday afternoons so that we can be the first to show them in the” Sportschau “,” says Balkausky.
At ZDF’s “Current Sports Studio”, the number of viewers has so far decreased by 470,000 – from 2.19 (2019/20) to 1.72 million. The second refers to the fact that during the Corona easing between August and November, less television was watched overall in Germany.
Rising odds in the lower house
The Saturday conference at Sky remained fairly constant: from 1.74 to 1.63 million viewers (minus 110,000). The top game on Saturdays at 6.30 p.m., on the other hand, fell from 1.2 million to 948,000 viewers (a decrease of 252,000). Here a quota bringer like Schalke was lost.
Sky explains: “The fact is that clubs with a long tradition and supporters have been relegated from the Bundesliga in the last few seasons, so we’re seeing a shift in audience interest to the 2nd Bundesliga, which is also noticeable in terms of coverage. In the overall view of the ranges of both leagues, the numbers have remained relatively stable. “
The odds of the second division (total of all games on a weekend) rose from 1.38 to 1.66 million (plus 280,000).
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