This archive report was first published on 15 May 2020.
On May 16, 2020, the German Bundesliga will make history by becoming the first major European soccer league to resume play after a two-month shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite the subdued atmosphere, with all games being played behind closed doors, the Bundesliga is expected to attract a massive global TV audience.
"With the Bundesliga as the only league to be broadcast on TV, I expect we will have an audience of a billion," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told SportBild magazine on May 13, 2020.
BT Sport in Britain will show all nine Bundesliga matches live this weekend, including the highly anticipated Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.
"Each team has nine or 10 league matches to play in order to complete the season and BT Sport will be with you every step of the way in what promises to be a thrilling climax to the season," said BT Sport on its website.
Games will be played in empty stadiums with only about 300 essential staff and officials attending. Players have been told not to spit, celebrate in groups, or touch hands with team mates.
Some clubs will use music and cardboard cutouts of fans to liven up the atmosphere at matches and Sky aims to compensate its television audiences by offering recordings of fans' gasps, cheers and chants.
