05-08-2021, 12:28 PM
Surprised in a way that Sky have acquired the Bundesliga as they have plenty of domestic football in similar slots. But the key phrase IMO in the official press release is "The deal widens the Sky - Bundesliga partnership, with deals in place across the Sky Group in UK/ROI, Italy, Germany (including German language rights in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and South Tyrol) and Austria." showing that Sky and the DFL have a strong relationship already. The DFL have also expanded their relationship with BeIN Sports in France to Turkey as well this year and Sky Germany also renewed the Premier League so are also looking at holding the same rights in multiple territories.
It will be interesting to see what level of coverage Sky gives the league on their channels with so much to show on Sky Sports Football. BT Sport's YouTube offering by the end of last season was a 5/6mins highlights of Bayern and Dortmund matches (even those not shown live due to blackout etc.) and a few other clips so it will be good if Sky do expand that. The league did show 2mins highlights of each match on their YouTube last season and I presume that will continue this season.
A surprise too that the 2. Bundesliga is not included or mentioned in the deal. It may be the second league but it is operated by the DFL like the Bundesliga (English equivalent would be if the Championship was operated by the Premier League) and is included in other broadcast deals, like BT's old deal and ESPN+ in the USA. There is also many big name teams (Hamburg, Scahlke etc.) in a highly unpredictable league. Bundesliga journalist Chris Williams notes in his article on the deal: "There has been, as yet, no mention of 2.Bundesliga coverage – but sources at both Schalke and Hamburg told FussballStadt that they were optimistic that the league could be brought to UK screens as soon as possible; be that with Sky, or through a streaming service."
Finally from the Bundesliga, new graphics mean new titles. Also a radical evolution rather than revolution. Presume the 1.Bundesliga titles will have imagery like the old one with the previous 2. Bundesliga also a simpler version. Prefer the slight remix of theme too.
Old:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQSuU2j_oAc
New:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHMcefiSHdg
It will be interesting to see what level of coverage Sky gives the league on their channels with so much to show on Sky Sports Football. BT Sport's YouTube offering by the end of last season was a 5/6mins highlights of Bayern and Dortmund matches (even those not shown live due to blackout etc.) and a few other clips so it will be good if Sky do expand that. The league did show 2mins highlights of each match on their YouTube last season and I presume that will continue this season.
A surprise too that the 2. Bundesliga is not included or mentioned in the deal. It may be the second league but it is operated by the DFL like the Bundesliga (English equivalent would be if the Championship was operated by the Premier League) and is included in other broadcast deals, like BT's old deal and ESPN+ in the USA. There is also many big name teams (Hamburg, Scahlke etc.) in a highly unpredictable league. Bundesliga journalist Chris Williams notes in his article on the deal: "There has been, as yet, no mention of 2.Bundesliga coverage – but sources at both Schalke and Hamburg told FussballStadt that they were optimistic that the league could be brought to UK screens as soon as possible; be that with Sky, or through a streaming service."
Finally from the Bundesliga, new graphics mean new titles. Also a radical evolution rather than revolution. Presume the 1.Bundesliga titles will have imagery like the old one with the previous 2. Bundesliga also a simpler version. Prefer the slight remix of theme too.
Old:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQSuU2j_oAc
New:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHMcefiSHdg