Germany’s national women’s handball team secured their spot in the upcoming European Championship and the match marked a significant milestone for the sport in Germany: its first-ever broadcast on ProSieben Maxx. The premiere offered a comprehensive viewing experience, though it didn’t radically reinvent the wheel for handball coverage, providing a solid foundation for future broadcasts.
The broadcast began at 3:05 p.m., a full 25 minutes before the scheduled 3:30 p.m. Start time, with moderator Andrea Kaiser leading interviews. A segment featuring Christoph “Icke” Domisch offered a glimpse into the daily life of left winger Antje Döll, a World Cup all-star, providing viewers with a personal connection to the team. Expert Lucie-Marie Kretzschmar introduced each player with a brief description, a tactic previously employed by ZDF during the men’s European Championships.
While the pre-game introductions were thorough, including a second presentation of the team lineup with player positions, some observers felt the segment was slightly lengthy. The real test, though, came during the game itself, and how the broadcast handled the crucial moments of coach interaction.
Timeouts and Tactical Insights
ProSieben Maxx utilized the game’s timeouts for commercial breaks, a standard practice in sports broadcasting. However, the station made a point of showing the most important instructions from national coach Markus Gaugisch live on a split screen, beginning with the fifth timeout of the match. This allowed viewers to gain insight into the tactical adjustments being made during critical junctures of the game. The broadcast too highlighted a key difference between international handball and other sports: the absence of a timeout buzzer, a detail explained by the commentary team of Tobi Schimon and Lucie-Marie Kretzschmar.
The broadcast wasn’t solely focused on the on-court action. A short halftime interview featured captain Antje Döll, while a longer segment with DHB (German Handball Federation) sports director Ingo Meckes covered the recent Women’s Handball World Championship, upcoming men’s games, and the “Hands up for more” initiative – a movement advocating for greater inclusivity and respect in sports.
ProSiebenSat.1’s Expanding Handball Coverage
This broadcast is part of a larger deal between ProSiebenSat.1 and Dyn Media to secure domestic rights to major International Handball Federation (IHF) tournaments through 2031. ProSiebenSat.1 holds exclusive free-to-air (FTA) rights, while Dyn Media has the exclusive pay-TV package. The agreement covers all German national team matches at the 2027, 2029, and 2031 men’s and women’s World Championships, as well as up to eight additional matches per tournament.
The coverage of the World Championship games involving the German national team already reached solid market shares, as reported in a ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE Q2 FY2025 earnings call. This suggests a growing audience interest in handball within Germany.
What’s Next for Handball on German Television
Two more international matches featuring the German men’s team against African champions Egypt are scheduled for later this month. As of now, the commentators and expert analysts for those games have not been announced. The success of this initial broadcast on ProSieben Maxx demonstrates a commitment to bringing handball to a wider audience in Germany, and fans will be eager to see how the coverage evolves.
The premiere may not have been revolutionary, but it was a solid and extensive introduction to international handball on free-to-air television. As ProSiebenSat.1 continues to invest in the sport, viewers can expect even more comprehensive coverage in the years to come.
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