Proximity and authenticity: DFL kicks off the new football season with more broadcaster content access through tent pole' match concept By Heather McLean Monday, September 29, 2025 - 11:05
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Refcam is now a regular feature of the DFL's new tent pole matches. Pictured, refcam being used during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern M nchen and Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena on 12 April 2025 in Munich, Germany [Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Bundesliga/Bundesliga Collection via Getty Images]
With the opening match of the Bundesliga having taken place on 22 August, with Bayern Munich thrashing RB Leipzig 6-0, and the opening match of the Bundesliga 2 kicking off three weeks earlier, the Deutsche Fu ball Liga (DFL) has its hands full.
The DFL has taken steps this season the first year in a new domestic rights cycle of four years to bring rights holders better access to players, exciting new presentation positions, and more content.
The planning for each new rights cycle begins three years before the first game of that season kicks off, explains Dominik Scholler, the DFL's vice president of product management and innovation: Well in advance to the start of the rights cycle we start with the first conversations around three years in advance to the rights cycle we sit down with all relevant parties the media partners to understand what their wishes are, what their plans are editorial-wise, but also from a technology perspective, [what they want].
What is always very important for us is to understand the fan perspective; we do that with research and creating personas to try to understand who are the followers of Bundesliga, and what do they expect to see. Also a very important stakeholder [in this process] are the clubs, who of course also contribute a lot to the media product in the end.
Usually one and a half years before the right cycle kicks off, we do all the fine-tuning and then the rights are tendered at one year in advance. As soon as we send out all the tender documents, we also need to provide all the details on what they also can expect from the media product.
Getting closer to the action and having a more unfiltered style of content was flagged up by rights holders as important for this rights cycle, says Scholler, speaking to SVG Europe. This time the media partners told us that proximity and authenticity is very important for them. That's also the feedback we got from fans.
I would say it's maybe also a logical consequence of that trend that we have seen in the past of all the sports documentaries, where you really get behind the scenes, so the main demand we got was basically [to see] if that [behind the scenes content] is also possible in a live environment. That's why at least from a storytelling side the main changes that we [made to the rights] is that we thought about how we can get closer to the game and provide these insights and work on a concept.
The DFL has leaned into the idea of providing more access through the creation of tent pole' matches in Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. These are key games in the season where additional access is viewed as being useful to rights holder
Strong foundations
The DFL has leaned into the idea of providing more access through the creation of tent pole' matches in Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. These are key games in the season where additional access is viewed as being useful to rights holders.
Scholler explains: We have established the concept of what we call tent pole matches. So there will be 15 matches in Bundesliga and five in Bundesliga 2 where we provide additional access. These are usually the biggest matches, like the SuperCup, or if Bayer plays against Dortmund, or a match with an awards ceremony where we then ask the clubs to provide additional access.
This access is basically a full spectrum of additional things that we can do, for example, we can put a camera in the team bus so that we can follow the bus drive to the stadium and see the fans waiting outside on the streets and cheering. But we also implemented, and I think in Premier League that was already established, a bus arrival interview with a player in the starting lineup, and locker room footage or footage from the players area.
Media partners have the opportunity to do stand ups from the locker room, well in advance of the match, and they can also do the opening of their programming on the pitch, where the reporter and experts can go onto the pitch; usually it's around the centre line where they can then open the programming there, Scholler continues.
After the match specially for the tent pole matches we allow them also to have pitch flash interviews, which is also a concept that we have seen in the Champions League Final, for example; they can enter the pitch immediately with a reporter camera and do an interview within two minutes after final whistle, which is great because you have all the emotions, all the excitement on the pitch. They can be used immediately in the live programming.
Interviews are also now allowed in the players area off the pitch, which, says Scholler, also looks nicer and more authentic than if you just do it in a flash zone or mixed zone in that high sheen context; if you have the team player's areas, that's usually a little bit more personalised, so additional nice footage .
Continues Scholler: [For tent pole matches] we have 20 cameras, for example, for one of the Sunday matches. But the broadcaster on Sunday can choose which of the matches should actually be produced with 20 cameras.
Technical services provider, TVN, works with the DFL's production arm, Sportcast, to bring the Bundesliga to viewers. Pictured is the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, during the Champions League Final 2025
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