fromJulian Dorn
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No more Bundesliga in the Eintracht bar “Backstage” in Frankfurt: Why the operator has canceled the Sky subscription – and how things are now going on for the shocked regulars.
Frankfurt – Anyone who wanted a seat in the back of the Eintracht cult bar “Backstage”, in front of the big screen, had to be there early. Since 1991 the “Backstage” at Alleenring in Frankfurt’s Nordend has been the Mecca for fans of Eintracht Frankfurt, who met there to talk about the latest transfers, the last game or what ex-player Luka Jovic was at Real Madrid so does.
That went on for 30 years. Now that era is probably over. The screen stays black, though Eintracht Frankfurt will face VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. * Operator Silke Bernhardt canceled the contract with the pay broadcaster Sky with a heavy heart in September. “It’s bitter, but I can’t always allow myself to be gagged by contracts,” says the restaurateur in the Conversation with the FR*. The fees for the pay channel are too high, but the pub’s income is too low because of Corona: fewer guests because of the hygiene requirements in Frankfurt, but at the same time Bernhardt has to employ more staff to implement the 3G rule.
In any case, the guests have become more cautious. Since 1991, the Eintracht pub in Frankfurt has actually been something of a second home for Eintracht fans. But then came the coronavirus. Many guests now shied away from the interior of the restaurant because of the risk of infection or because of the strict requirements. “If Eintracht doesn’t play, there are five guests in the Champions League and Bundesliga, that’s not enough,” complains Bernhardt.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Sky rejects lower fees for cult pub “Backstage”
The restaurateur didn’t make the decision easy for herself. On the contrary: She pulled out all the stops, even contacted the broadcaster and asked that the fees for her Eintracht bar could be lowered because of her corona-related losses. But in Munich she fell on deaf ears. Those responsible declined their request.
“Like our customers, Sky is also facing challenges due to Corona and must continue to generate income due to high rights costs in order to be able to continue to offer its customers its high-quality programming,” explains the broadcaster when asked by FR. In addition, the broadcaster refers to its previous goodwill: Sky has accommodated the restaurateurs “in many months of lockdown” and reduced the fee by 30 percent.
Eintracht cult bar “Backstage”: Fixed costs at Sky that are too high for restaurateurs
That may be true. But from this season it will be even more expensive for commercial users. Because if you always want to show Eintracht in moving images, you need a subscription from Sky as well as the pay-TV channel Dazn, which has now launched a gastro subscription itself. For the Eintracht bar “Backstage” with its size, costs of up to 1000 euros are incurred – per month: around 700 euros for Sky and just under 300 euros for Dazn. Bernhardt and her team have to earn that first – and the fees are ultimately due even when the Bundesliga is on pause.
The Aky subscription is also not flexible, criticizes Bernhardt. At least not for restaurateurs. “If it were possible to just subscribe to Eintracht or to subscribe on a monthly basis, I would have tried that.” But accepting these fixed costs every year is no longer an option for the “Backstage” operator.
Eintracht bar “Backstage” in Frankfurt: Eintracht radio as an alternative?
The subscriptions for private individuals are less rigid – and cheaper. This in turn also ensures that fewer guests come to Bernhardt. Because many fans got a Sky subscription themselves during the lockdowns and now prefer to watch the games of Eintracht in their own virus-free living room, comfortably on the couch.
For many, however, this does not necessarily replace the atmosphere of the public viewing in the Eintracht cult pub. That is why the cancellation of the Sky subscription was a shock for many regular guests in the “Backstage”, Bernhardt told fr.de. Some even offered her financial help. But she refused. She also doesn’t want to get into a new dependency.
And now? Bernhardt now relies on the Eintracht radio for the first time. “This is an attempt, but maybe also quite nice.” (Judo) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
