Deutsche Fußball Liga Trials Moving Main Camera During Bundesliga Match
Story Highlights
The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) has trialled a moving main camera to give viewers a perspective like that in the video game EA Sports FC 25.
During a fixture between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich on January 11, footage from a camera mounted to a track was cut into the main feed coverage of the match.
DFL vice president of product management and innovation Dominik Scholler said the league was happy with the pilot and satisfied with the results.
He told SVG Europe: “Technically, everything worked well, also thanks to close collaboration with the home club Borussia Mönchengladbach installing the system in the stadium.
“The signal offered a perspective reminiscent of the popular video game EA Sports FC 25, providing a completely new perspective on the top match.
“The feedback we received so far from broadcasters and our subsidiary Sportcast, host broadcaster for Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, was good.”
Football Summit 2025 Dominik Scholler will speak at SVG Europe’s Football Summit (20 March, Etihad Stadium, Manchester) about how the DFL is getting viewers closer to the action. For more information and to register visit svgeurope.org/football-summit-2025
The camera which was provided by PMT Professional Motion Technology, moved on a 70-metre track under the stadium roof, reaching speeds of up to 23.6 mph (38 km/h).
The footage was included in the base signal, which meant it was part of the domestic as well as the international broadcast feeds.
In terms of future use, the DFL said due to the complex installation the possibilities for further use are different for each stadium. And, given the additional cost, it is still in the “testing stage”.
Coincidentally, forty years ago the same teams – Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich – made television history when their match on 11 December 1984 became the first to be shown live on TV in Germany.
In October 2023, Sky Sports and the Premier League trailed ‘Game Mode’ for coverage of an Arsenal v Manchester City fixture. A Batcam-supplied railcam installed at the Emirates tracked the action from side to side with ‘Game Mode’ acting as a camera 1 replacement.