Called ‘Sky Next Generation’, the broadcaster’s kid-focused coverage of last weekend’s game between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich was available on the broadcaster’s Sky Sport Bundesliga 3 channel. Additionally, it was Sky Deutschland’s usual Bundesliga coverage.
This ‘Der Klassiker’ coverage was unique due to the child-focused presentation of the match; special graphics and editorial content designed to appeal to kids have been developed. According to Sky, the Bundesliga classic on October 8 was the first live sports broadcast in Germany specifically aimed at children.
To get a genuine engagement with the next generation audience, new presenters were selected to host the coverage, including football freestyler Marcel Gurk and athlete & fitness influencer Imke Salander; they presented special stories about football from Signal Iduna Park to the young fans on the screens.
Besides, during the match, commentator Frank Buschmann was joined by kids reporters Diego Miele and Sophie von Kameke, two 11-year-old child reporters. The two will also provide interesting sights behind the scenes. There were also selected highlights of the pre-match show and post-match reporting on Instagram, TikTok, etc.
Sky Deutschland realised the “Sky Next Generation” experiment in close cooperation with the DFL. As part of the coverage, Sky produced packages and stories to appeal to children, with child-friendly sections and interviews, a fan quiz for kids and some behind-the-scenes content to air before kick-off, at half-time and after the final whistle.
Comic-style graphics were used to explain and enhance the coverage. A kids reporter with a wireless body camera walked onto the pitch with the players for the pre-match lineup to provide an up-close view of the players.
It is undoubtedly that sport organizations and media companies are thinking of different ways to engage the next generations in their content. A successful example is the NFL, CBS Sports and Nickelodeon partnership, aiming to provide an attractive alternative to the games broadcast for young people with stunning graphics and the participation of cartoon characters.
Sky Deutschland and Bundesliga want to secure the interest of the next generation of viewers, and it would be interesting to see their next idea aiming to be present in the youngster’s minds.
