LEIPZIG: Sky tv host Esther Sedlaczek wears a face mask as she interviews a player of Leipzig after the German first division Bundesliga football match RB Leipzig v SC Freiburg in Leipzig, eastern Germany as the season resumed following a two-month absence due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. – AFP

BERLIN: The restart of the Bundesliga behind locked doors on Saturday attracted over six million viewers watching in Germany, a new record for broadcasters Sky, according to specialist website DWDL.de. 

When the German league resumed on Saturday afternoon after a two-month break due to the coronavirus, Sky had 3.68 million viewers watching the matches on its subscription TV channels in Germany.

The domestic figure is more than double the usual audience for a typical round of Saturday matches. In addition, 2.45 million viewers watched the 'Konferenz' - a simultaneous live broadcast of the five afternoon games, where coverage moved from stadium to stadium.
In the day's main game, Erling Braut Haaland scored the first Bundesliga goal since mid-March to help Borussia Dortmund rout rivals Schalke 4-0 and stay in the title race with Bayern Munich, who play Union Berlin away on Sunday.

A spokesman for the German Football League (DFL) told AFP the matches were televised by more than 70 broadcasters worldwide, all on previously-agreed deals. With Bundesliga matches played behind closed doors in near-empty stadiums, Sky Germany broadcast the 'Konferenz' on its free-to-view Sports News Channel.

The idea was to discourage fans in Germany from meeting up to watch matches in places with a Sky subscription. When Saturday afternoon's games kicked-off, Sky Germany had a market share of 27.4 percent on their pay-to-view channels and 18.2 percent on their free channel.

In the target group of 14-49 year olds, the total market share was "over 60 percent", according to DWDL.de on Sunday, a record for Sky Germany. Having been granted permission to restart after the German government approved the league's strict hygiene guidelines, the Bundesliga is the first top European league to resume.

There are hopes the leagues in Italy, Spain and England can restart next month while the French league season has already been scrapped.
Meanwhile, Thomas Mueller joked that the Bundesliga without fans feels like "old man's football, 7pm, under floodlights" after Bayern Munich brushed aside Union Berlin 2-0 behind closed doors on Sunday.
A first-half Robert Lewandowski penalty and a late Benjamin Pavard header sealed Bayern's win in front of empty terraces in Berlin. The result leaves defending champions Bayern four points clear as the German league restarted this weekend after a two-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 virus. However, Mueller admitted it was strange to play Union behind closed doors at their compact Alten Foersterei stadium, which is usually packed with 22,000 passionate home fans.

"It felt a bit like the atmosphere you get for old man's football, 7pm, under floodlights, but as soon as the ball started to roll, the game took our focus," said Mueller. The Bundesliga became the first top European league to resume this weekend, using draconian hygiene guidelines, regular testing of players and insisting on games in near-empty stadiums.

Hugging, embracing and handshakes were also banned.  "There were a few butterflies before the restart, wondering how it would go, like before the first game of the season in August," said Mueller. "I wasn't worried about anything going wrong, everything was explained clearly to us.
"Union Berlin, just like us, were well prepared, no handshakes before kick-off etc." Mueller said the defending champions were just happy to win their first game after the restart to keep them on course for an eighth consecutive league title. "We came here with the goal of getting the three points," added Mueller. "We had a bit more security after the second goal." – AFP