DOHA: Bayern Munich CEO and former German legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said that the Bundesliga is expected to have an audience of a billion as the league gets ready for a restart.
“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.
In Britain, BT Sport is showing all nine Bundesliga matches live this weekend, including the Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.
“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.
In Scandinavia, all Bundesliga games will be available on the Viaplay streaming service with selected games on pay-TV channels, said NENT.
“We know how strong the appetite for live sport is, so we are delighted to offer top-class football to our viewers once again,” said a NENT spokeswoman.
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 team-mates.
The season in Germany was halted on March 13 in a bid to prevent the virus spreading.
Germany has been less affected by the coronavirus pandemic than other European countries, partly due to mass testing.
Highlights this weekend include league leaders Bayern away at Union Berlin on Sunday with Dortmund, four points behind the Bavarians, playing Schalke on Saturday.
Bayern, Dortmund and Schalke are the only three German clubs to feature in the top 20 in the annual Deloitte ranking of soccer clubs by their revenues.
The leaders of the powerful states of Bavaria — home to reigning German champions Bayern Munich — and the football hotbed state of North-Rhine Westphalia have backed football’s resumption.
