Premiere in the Bundesliga conference of DAZN. The streaming platform with Christina Rann used a commentator for the first time. The 43-year-old Hamburg woman commented from the DAZN studio in Munich. In football, Rann has already commented on the men and women’s Champions League for DAZN, 3rd league and international matches for Magentasport as well as the women’s Bundesliga for Sport1 (currently the Monday evening game) and magenta. At Sky she was a long moderator and Field reporter.
Ask: Ms. Rann, as the first commentator, were there at the Bundesliga conference on Saturday at the Wolfsburg game against Leipzig. How was it?
Christina Rann: I had a lot of fun. The team on site was great, everyone was very helpful. It was exciting to get to know the processes from the inside. And now I also know where the on-air knopp is. (laughs)
Ask: Were you surprised that in 25 years of conference history a woman was never allowed to comment?
Rann: I thought closely again whether it is really so. I’m actually the first now, but hopefully the first of many. I think it will be a matter of course from now on. Of course I know about the symbolic power, but in the end it’s about football.
Ask: They comment, moderate and conduct interviews. What role did you like when you started?
Rann: As a child I had another goal: news spokeswoman! Because I saw Dagmar Berghoff on TV. Then she was my role model. You need these role models. Now I hope that maybe a girl is sitting in front of the television and says: I can imagine commentator as a job. The medium of television fascinated me. At some point it started with the comment for the blind and visually impaired at HSV games. There was a door.
Ask: Overall, there is a handful of commentators. How much do you exchange ideas with each other?
Rann: I have the most contact with Stephanie Baczyk and Christina Graf. Of course we have a common story, all come from the same casting.
Ask: In 2012 Sky and the “Sport Bild” were looking for a voice for the broadcaster. Graf narrowly won.
Rann: We pursue what the others do – and cheer us on, we are happy for the others. Rachel Rinast, who now comments on Sky, is also part of it. I like to swap with them. This network is totally important. The impression could arise that we are competitors because there has often only been one or no position. We interpret it differently. It is about creating opportunities to accommodate several women in the soccer comment.
Ask: Why are there many moderators, but relatively few commentators?
Rann: Many see themselves more as moderators. So far, however, there has also been a different funding. Men were encouraged in the comment, many have already had a long way. But you can see that the speed has increased in terms of the development of the commentators. I notice that, and it also brings responsibility. You have to deliver quickly. I hope we clear the way for several women.
Ask: In 2014/15 they worked for Sky at the Bundesliga preview “Mein Stadium” with Ulli Potofski, who recently died of cancer. How much will it be missing from sports television?
Rann: We will be missing a very big heart. The news made me very sad. He brought this very human component on television, also in his conversations. This is something we have to preserve. With productions, it was always totally nice that it was very open to everyone – the team behind the camera, including the fans. He always had an open ear. He had a role model function across generations.
