Mr Bauer, the Australian Open, which Eurosport wants to broadcast, is supposed to take place on Monday. Now the tournament is on the brink because of a corona case in the tournament hotel. How big is your tension?
Relatively low. Of course we are watching the development with great interest, but we have full confidence in Tennis Australia, which has so far approached this strictly and consistently. We hope and look forward to broadcasting the tournament on Monday. Since it could take place without a spectator, we are not worried. Anyone who tests negative can go back to their bubble. That should be true for most. Even though we unfortunately had to cancel our broadcasts yesterday.
The Australian Open should already be a few weeks later than originally planned. Corona is likely to have thwarted your reporting plans, right?
Reporting is difficult, but it is possible. Of course, it is different if you can take a large Grand Slam tournament with you completely on site. After almost a year in which we have to live with the effects of the pandemic, we have found our way around well. Our new virtual studio, which we opened a few months ago, helps us with this. Innovation, investment and information, that is the formula we are committed to. And especially in tennis, where Alexander Zverev is on his way to becoming a world star, we don’t want to stand still. Up to 30,000 spectators are allowed on site, making it the busiest Grand Slam for spectators since the beginning of the pandemic. Maybe it will really be the “Happy Slam”.
What exactly will be different?
In the past, we have implemented very refreshing formats with Boris Becker, such as “My Melbourne”, “My Paris” or “My New York”, where he told us, for example, which clubs he used to go to. Now that we are staying in Munich, that is of course not possible. After two Grand Slams under Corona conditions, however, we found a way to use all of our technical tools in such a way that we can deliver varied reporting despite the circumstances. Boris has a lot of fun with it and is very involved.
The working hours should not be so pleasant this time.
The early bird is in demand. (laughs) For this reason, we won’t be localizing in the early hours of the morning this time, but we have made an agreement with Eurosport International that our game wishes will be fulfilled as far as possible. So if Angelique Kerber plays in the night, we will also see it. Apart from that, our reporting will begin at 7 a.m. with Barbara Rittner and our new addition Sascha Bandermann. We also want to try to accompany the tournament on Clubhouse. This is a new platform that we want to start a few test balloons on because it allows direct feedback. The coverage is rounded off by “Matchball Becker” and the backstage videos by Mischa Zverev, whom we would like to integrate more strongly than before.
Actually, not a day goes by without a change somewhere and we have to reschedule.
When German players like Alexander Zverev play very well, TV ratings quickly skyrocket. The great hype that tennis once experienced in the times of Becker and Graf is unmatched. Where does tennis stand today from your point of view?
It simply takes a German Grand Slam victory to further fuel interest. For many viewers, even a final is unfortunately not good enough. At the same time, tennis is facing changes because the end of their careers is foreseeable for the top 5 players. It will be difficult for the sport to close the gap that Djokovic, Federer or Nadal will leave. For this reason, we are already increasingly showing the next generation, even if these games may not be at the absolute top level yet. But there are many exciting personalities such as Coco Gauff, Jannik Sinner, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud or Nick Kyrgios. Sport also needs such polarizing figures. Apart from that, I don’t think it’s good for tennis that many big matches can be seen behind the paywall. This makes our role as the basic provider with three large and many smaller tournaments that we broadcast over the course of the year all the more important.
Corona has massively changed sports reporting in recent months. How normal does that feel now?
It has become routine and by the Olympic Games at the latest, we will be able to have the director in Hamburg, the vision mixer in Paris and the sound technician in Amsterdam. Everyone can then run a complete TV production remotely from home. This has the positive side effect of saving travel costs and reducing the carbon footprint. But it is also clear that we will all be happy when things return to normal. There is of course no direct contact with the athlete in the long term. But Sascha Zverev was more open than ever at the US Open, ironically thanks to Corona, and had a lot more time for us.
Unlike in the first lockdown, a professional sports break is currently not an issue. Are you surprised?
Actually, yes, but great hygiene concepts are now being implemented in all sports, which ensure that professional sports are still possible. Nevertheless, we are currently noticing, especially in winter sports, that there are many shifts. Actually, not a day goes by without a change somewhere and we have to reschedule. The fact that the Australian Open starts later than usual is of course a luxury problem. But a luxury problem is also a problem.
What do you mean?
We originally planned a long program, from the Australian Open to the Alpine World Ski Championships and the Nordic World Ski Championships. Six weeks in which there is enough space for intensive reporting and cross-promotion, but also more opportunities for monetization. The fact that everything now takes place within four weeks is a real challenge when it comes to refinancing sports rights, because the sports cannibalize each other. As a result, for example, we will sometimes not be able to show the first run in alpine skiing on free TV because tennis is still running.
How do you intend to solve this dilemma?
For example, we will keep our winter sports fans up to date with short updates, be it via a crawl or a clip in the studio. In addition, it is worthwhile to have invested in OTT in order to give viewers the opportunity to switch to this offer in such cases. In the end, of course, what counts is that the events take place at all.
© Discovery
Boris Becker im Eurosport-Studio
Keyword OTT: In addition to the Eurosport Player, there is now also an extensive sports area on the Joyn streaming service, which Discovery operates together with ProSiebenSat.1. What is your priority?
Both. (laughs) Ultimately, there is an interface from which everything runs into the Eurosport Player and is automatically distributed to the individual platforms. Our entire concept is already geared towards OTT first. We have even changed our comment so that it is not only commented for the linear output, but also for all OTT platforms, because we are seeing large increases in usage there.
The Olympic Games are planned for this year. How do you plan such an event without knowing whether it will even take place?
By assuming it will take place. (laughs) As soon as you start to doubt that, it wouldn’t work. Our equipment for the Summer Games in Tokyo does not even come back, but is shipped directly to Beijing, where the Winter Games will take place in a year. It is important that we are prepared for all eventualities.
Mr. Bauer, thank you for talking to us.
