When the match is over, the fun really begins. With the new Highlight Creator on FC Bayern TV PLUS, fans can compile their own match clips. Goal by goal, pass by pass, tackle by tackle. Everyone can become the director of their own favourite moments and experience Bayern’s games in their own individual way.
The final whistle has blown, and the three points are in the bag. Your voice is hoarse, your heart is pounding with joy, and your head is still spinning from 90 minutes of football fever. You just don't want to let go of this feeling and would love to experience it all over again. All those moments are still swirling around in your head. In the past, this was when the long wait began. Waiting for the round-up on the evening’s highlights show, only to be disappointed now and then because that one scene didn't make it into the highlights. This is exactly where FC Bayern TV PLUS comes in.
For many years, FC Bayern's in-house TV and video offering has been a popular service among fans. A year ago, FC Bayern changed its concept. It moved away from a linear 24/7 television channel to a streaming platform where content such as documentaries, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and various matchday formats are available at any time. It's similar to Netflix or Amazon Prime, but with content related to Bayern. As the platform has changed, so too has user behaviour. Gone are the days of re-watching 90 minutes of football or pre-cut highlights, where others decide what is important and worth watching and what isn’t.
Directing from home
Today's fans want to decide for themselves which scenes they want to see again. In response to this, FC Bayern TV PLUS recently launched a new tool. The Highlight Creator, as the name suggests, allows users to compile their own highlights. Harry Kane's brilliant diagonal ball from his own box? Joshua Kimmich's determined tackle in the centre circle? Or Luis Díaz's breathtaking dribble through the opposition's half? With the Highlight Creator, everyone can be a director at home. After all, who knows better what you want to see than the viewer themselves?
The whole thing works incredibly simply. On FC Bayern TV, you click on the Highlight Creator and are then guided through the menu. You can select one or more matches or a player you are interested in. You can then choose from various match scenes to mix your own personal clip. At the end, simply click on ‘play’ – and a few seconds later, your very own highlight clip will be available to watch. No editing or downloading, no technical know-how required. What initially seems like a nice gimmick quickly develops its own appeal and leads to you watching games in a completely different way. Knowing that you can select the scenes yourself later on makes you watch the game a little more closely. After all, every pass could be a new highlight in the making.
The tool was developed in collaboration with external software partner Matchvision. The background system assigns every action – whether a pass, shot, save or goal – to the respective player and makes the data available as quickly as possible. For Bundesliga and DFB Cup matches, this happens just a few hours after the final whistle; for Champions League matches, it happens the next day for rights reasons. In addition, all Bundesliga matches played by our women's team are also available on the platform. This makes FC Bayern the first club in Germany to offer such a service. And that's not all. There are plans to further expand the tool in the future. FCB basketball and youth matches could soon be available on the platform. In addition, the Highlight Creator is to be linked to myFCBAYERN. This would allow users to view the highlights of their favourite players in the app, for example.
A football library
Another special feature is that the content doesn't disappear – it stays there. Over the months, a digital archive of individual FCB players is built up, which every subscriber can access. Want to watch Lennart Karl's first minutes on the pitch again in a year's time? How did Kane actually take his penalties? And do you remember that brilliant save by Manuel Neuer against Borussia Dortmund? It’ll all be there to watch when you want.
The Highlight Creator is not just a marketing gimmick or a new social media feature that will fade into obscurity in a month or two. It is an offering from FC Bayern that gives fans more opportunities to engage with the club they love. At the end of the day, the Highlight Creator is nothing more than a reflection of interests. It shows how differently fans perceive and experience the same game. While one fan is looking for emotional moments, another wants a compilation with tactical depth. One wants to see every pass by Georgia Stanway, another every sprint by Alphonso Davies. Isn't that exactly what makes football so interesting and multi-layered? Now we have the tool to experience it in all its facets. The Highlight Creator individualises where previously there was only uniform reporting. And when you can see exactly what you noticed in the stadium again in the evening, it feels like you're right back in the thick of it.
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