Der Klassiker between FC Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund: global media interest and state-of-the-art production
29 March 2023 – The current 2022-23 Bundesliga season is entering its final stages, and the situation at the top of the table promises pure excitement in the fight for the title: after Matchday 25, there is just one point separating leader Borussia Dortmund from FC Bayern München in second place. As a result, Saturday’s direct clash between FC Bayern and BVB in the Allianz Arena in Munich (6:30 p.m. CEST) has all the makings of a thrilling Der Klassiker.
Global media interest
The great anticipation for the two clubs’ 108th Bundesliga meeting stretches around the world. This is demonstrated by the global media interest – the match will be broadcast in more than 200 of the 211 FIFA member countries. In addition to the national media partners, numerous international TV broadcasters will also be dispatching their own crews to the Allianz Arena, in order to take viewers in their home countries directly to the heart of the action. Amongst others, ESPN (USA), ESPN Deportes (USA, South America), Viaplay (Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland), beIN Sports France, beIN Sports Middle East, Network 4 (Hungary), Canal+ (Sub-Saharan Africa), OneFootball and BAND Sports (both Brazil) will be reporting live from the stadium with commentary in their respective languages and interviews with players and experts pre- and post-match.
Production concept with 32 cameras
The millions of fans watching on screens around the world will be able to enjoy the match from more angles and perspectives than ever before. A total of 32 cameras will be deployed by the DFL – a record for a Bundesliga broadcast. While a Bundesliga match is usually covered by at least 19 (and up to 26) cameras, Der Klassiker on Saturday will be produced with additional, top-of-the-range cameras. The production will provide the best possible image quality with UHD-HDR.
For media partners and fans, the camera concept devised by the DFL subsidiary Sportcast includes corner flag cameras, a railcam, an extra high-speed Polecam (attached to a four-metre-long jib arm, it covers the entire goal, including the view through the goal net, and enables extreme slow motion), an additional ultra slow motion cam (with a focus on extreme slow motion, it captures six times more images per second than an ordinary camera), a second cinematic-look camera (wireless handheld camera that renders individual scenes even more full of life and colour) and additional cameras for capturing coaches and players. A drone outside the stadium and the aerial camera system will provide spectacular shots from the air. On Saturday, the images supplied by this equipment will also be used to display various graphical elements via augmented-reality technology in the “World Feed”. This includes team line-ups, match results, statistics, as well as screens with images about the exciting title race.
Viewer experience augmented by Tactical and Interactive Feed
International media partners can also use content from the DFL’s International Product Portfolio (IPP) – this content produced by the DFL subsidiary DFL Digital Sports includes the entire match with English-language commentary, interviews and highlights. Commentary for the international live production in the “World Feed” is provided by Kevin Hatchard and Patrick Owomoyela.
Sky and numerous international media partners will also be showing the Tactical Feed, where the main camera always shows the full-pitch view, including all 20 outfield players, while relevant information and graphics are shown at relevant points throughout the match in a J-shaped frame at the edge of the screen. These include the familiar Bundesliga Match Facts powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), with the average positions of both teams, tactical team data and individual information on the phttps://www.dfl.de/en/topics/match-data/bundesliga-match-facts/layers.
Three international media partners (SkyPerfecTV! in Japan, Network 4 in Hungary, and Sky in Mexico) will also be giving their viewers the chance to watch Der Klassiker via the Interactive Feed from the DFL. The special feature here is that, along with the live stream, viewers will be offered all match data, which they can display on their screen or hide at the touch of a button. They can also view highlight videos at any time without missing a single second of the live action.
Global activities
Der Klassiker will be accompanied by the global “Time to get real” campaign, with digital content on Bundesliga channels as well as spots on TV and out-of-home spaces. There will also be live events hosted around the world, with the support of the two clubs, their international fan clubs, and local media partners, which will all take place on the international “Bundesliga Common Ground” pitches renovated by the DFL. Moreover, on the day of the match, there will be numerous watch parties, for example in the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Indonesia, China and Nigeria. Many of the planned activities around Der Klassiker will see the participation of Bundesliga and club legends, including Lothar Matthäus, Philipp Lahm, Claudio Pizzaro, Zé Roberto and Roman Weidenfeller.
