German Bundesliga
German football fans will have the option of watching Bundesliga matches with recorded crowd noise, including singing, when the league resumes without spectators in the stadiums following the coronavirus stoppage today.
Broadcaster Sky said on its website that viewers can choose to watch the matches with natural sound, which is likely to consist of the shouts of players and coaches echoing around the empty stadium.
However, it said there would also be “a freely selectable new alternative audio track with a recorded stadium atmosphere”.
“In addition to the live commentary, it also plays back fan chants for the participating teams and crowd reactions to the match,” Sky said.
For viewers who preferred the original sound, Sky said that “the focus will be more on the calls of players and coaches as well as the sounds of the ball action”.
The German top flight is set to have ore eyes on it than ever before as it becomes to first major league to restart amid the pandemic.
“With the Bundesliga as the only league to be broadcast on TV, I expect we will have an audience of a billion,” Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told SportBild magazine on Wednesday.
In the IK, BT Sport is showing all nine Bundesliga matches live this weekend, including the Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke.
“Each team has nine or 10 league matches to play in order to complete the season and BT Sport will be with you every step of the way in what promises to be a thrilling climax to the season,” said BT Sport on its website.
Games will be played in empty stadiums with only about 300 essential staff and officials attending. Players have been told not to spit, celebrate in groups, or touch hands with teammates.