The Premier League’s global popularity and reach are causing European football competitions to struggle to compete, both in finding an audience and outlets to show matches.
German football has taken a different approach by reaching out to Gen Z through content creators. Tonight, Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich will kick off their Bundesliga title defense live to 1.4 million subscribers on the That’s Football channel on YouTube.
This channel, run by Mark Goldbridge, is known for its passionate and often provocative commentary on players during streams, which frequently go viral. Goldbridge’s brand was established through his reactions to Manchester United matches.
Goldbridge explained that their unique content style has attracted large audiences without the need to pay for broadcasting rights, highlighting the challenges the Bundesliga faced in finding a buyer in Britain.
Sky Sports, which previously held exclusive rights to show German matches, now only airs the prestigious Saturday evening slot live.
Bundesliga teams Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig during their match in April. Pic: Reuters
European leagues are facing challenges in selling their rights due to the dominance of domestic football. Sky and TNT Sports focus on domestic and men’s continental competitions like the Champions League.
More Premier League matches than ever will be broadcast, with Sky and TNT sharing coverage. Sky also has rights to English and Scottish matches, as well as sharing the Women’s Super League with the BBC.
The Bundesliga is collaborating with Goldbridge’s channel, allowing BBC and The Overlap, a YouTube channel part-owned by Gary Neville, to stream the games. Neville, a pundit on Sky, could attract fans to newer outlets.
‘A progressive step’
Bundesliga International CEO Peer Naubert emphasized the diverse approach in engaging fans through various platforms and content creators, providing a progressive experience for football enthusiasts.
Goldbridge sees his channel as a complement rather than a rival to traditional broadcasters, aiming to build a community around Bundesliga matches.
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Goldbridge values the community’s support in enhancing his understanding of the Bundesliga and aims to provide an inclusive space for fans to engage with the matches.
Kane celebrates the Bundesliga title with his Bayern Munich teammates. The Premier League’s growing global popularity is outshining other European football leagues struggling to compete for an audience and broadcast outlets. German football, in response, is targeting Gen Z engagement through content creators like Mark Goldbridge, whose That’s Football channel on YouTube will broadcast Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title defense to 1.4 million subscribers. Goldbridge’s provocative commentary has attracted massive audiences without paying for rights, in contrast to the struggles of Bundesliga in the British market. Sky Sports, now only airing a select few German matches, prioritizes domestic football coverage, as does Discovery-owned TNT Sports. The Premier League dominates the market, with more matches than ever shown live on Sky and TNT. Goldbridge’s channel will also stream Bundesliga games on The Overlap, a channel co-owned by Gary Neville, potentially posing competition to traditional broadcasters. Bundesliga International CEO Peer Naubert sees this diverse strategy as a progressive step in engaging UK and Irish audiences. Goldbridge, however, does not consider himself a rival to established broadcasters, aiming instead to offer a different style of content. This community will be actively engaged with us, tuning in to watch the Bundesliga matches and learn more about the league. If I happen to mispronounce a player’s name or lack knowledge about a certain player, I can rely on my community to support me. I don’t claim to have all the answers, and that’s where my community comes in handy.
‘We’ve been there growing in the background and I think certain media outlets have ignored that, maybe hoping it would go away,’ he said.
‘I certainly think synergy and collaboration need to happen more because there are things in the mainstream that I don’t like and there will be people out there that really don’t like the way we watch football, but a lot of people do.
‘And it’s about offering that choice to people and there are different ways people listen to football on the radio, people watch it with a commentator, some people turn the audio off completely, some people watch things like this (watch-a-long).
‘And I think that is the future, to offer more choice.’
The growing popularity and reach of the Premier League globally is leaving rival European football competitions struggling to compete. Not only to find an audience, but to find outlets to even show the matches.
So German football had to think differently – going to where Gen Z is engaging with football through content creators. And that’s why tonight, Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich will begin their defence of the Bundesliga title live to 1.4 million subscribers on the That’s Football channel on YouTube.
It’s run by Mark Goldbridge, known for passionate but often provocative, punchy commentary about players on streams – often going viral. His brand was built by being filmed reacting to Manchester United matches.
«People need to appreciate that we have a certain content style, and that’s very, very popular,» Goldbridge told Sky News. «That is an area that needs to be catered [to] and that’s why, without the rights, we’ve had such big, big audiences.»
Goldbridge revealed he isn’t paying to show his 20 Friday night matches this season – reinforcing how the Bundesliga struggled to find a buyer in Britain. Sky Sports previously had a four-year rights deal to exclusively show those German matches here, but will now only show the prestige Saturday evening slot live.
European leagues are finding it increasingly difficult in this market to sell their rights because domestic football is so dominant and appealing. The focus of football budgets is on domestic games for Sky as well as Discovery-owned TNT Sports, which also focuses its European football coverage on men’s continental competitions, including the Champions League.
More Premier League matches will be shown live than ever before – with at least 215 on Sky, the parent company of Sky News, and others on TNT. Sky Sports also has live men’s rights to the English Football League and Scottish matches, as well as sharing the Women’s Super League with the BBC. The Bundesliga is also making the games broadcast by Goldbridge’s channel available to the BBC to stream online. They will also appear on The Overlap, a YouTube channel co-owned by Gary Neville. As a prominent pundit for Sky, Neville could potentially draw fans away from Comcast-owned broadcasters by attracting them to his channel.
Bundesliga International CEO Peer Naubert stated: «Our approach is as varied as our fans: by combining traditional broadcasters with digital platforms and content creators, we are taking a progressive approach to how top-level football can be enjoyed. This multi-faceted strategy allows us to reach a wider audience in the UK and Ireland, giving every fan the opportunity to engage in the way that suits them best.»
Goldbridge, who has over two million subscribers on his channel The United Stand, sees himself not as a direct competitor to established broadcasters. He emphasizes the importance of offering viewers different ways to consume football content, acknowledging that not everyone watches the game in the same way. Goldbridge believes that providing a variety of options is the way forward in football media.
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