30 years of pay TV in Germany also means 30 years of regular live reporting from the Bundesliga on German television. On March 2, 1991, Sky’s predecessor company Premiere broadcast a Bundesliga game live for the first time.
Before that, other broadcasters had already broadcast live Bundesliga matches, but the start of pay TV marked the start of regular live TV coverage from the top German soccer league.
“We are proud to have been a partner of the Bundesliga and the DFL for an unbelievable 30 years,” says Charly Classen, Executive Vice President Sports at Sky Germany: “From the beginning we were the first address for all fans and in the future too Sky will report more than any other provider on the Bundesliga.”
Beckmann comments on the premiere in Frankfurt
The scene of the premiere 30 years ago was the Frankfurt Waldstadion, in which Eintracht Frankfurt beat the eventual German champions 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4: 3 thanks to three goals from world champion Andreas Möller.
The commentator of the first game was Reinhold Beckmann, then Premiere sports director, his co-commentator was Hannes Bongartz, who at that time was the coach of the new Bundesliga club SG Wattenscheid 09. Jörg Dahlmann and Tom Theunissen were on duty as field reporters on the sidelines. In terms of production standards and personnel costs, pay-TV broadcasts set new standards from the start.
Special on Sky Sport News, film available on Sky Q.
Football fans who want to see the pictures from the first live game on pay TV 30 years ago will have the opportunity to do so on Tuesday on free TV on Sky Sport News and on Sky Sport Bundesliga 1. From 3:30 p.m., Sky will initially show the special “30 Years of the Bundesliga on Sky”. Commentator Fritz von Thurn und Taxis, who accompanied the Bundesliga on Sky from 1993 to 2017, is a guest of presenter Peter Hardenacke in the studio. Reinhold Beckmann, then Premiere sports director and commentator for the first game, will also be there via live broadcast. As part of the special, a “Best of …” with pictures and moments from 30 years of the Bundesliga will also be shown on Sky.
Immediately afterwards, from 4 p.m., Sky will show “Premiere”, the 34-minute film for the first game from the Bundesliga Collection. It is already available with Sky Q in the Bundesliga Collection in the “Biggest Games” category. The special will also be available to Sky Q customers on demand after the live broadcast.
