German professional football clubs are big in the advertising business

Nowhere else in Europe do professional football clubs make as much money from advertising as in Germany. For the 36 professional clubs, the advertising business is the most lucrative source of money at 416 million euros. Even the top football leagues in Italy, Spain and England do not generate this amount, writes Der Spiegel. At 302 million euros, TV broadcasting rights are the second highest source of revenue for German professional teams. The oversaturation of German stadiums with advertising boards, logos and slogans has been criticized by German experts. They question the efficiency of advertising in German Bundesliga stadiums, which are overcrowded with advertising. Der Spiegel, for example, quotes Berlin-based designer Markus Deecke, who works as an interior designer for sports arenas: "You lose a lot of impact through overloading. Less would be more, that's still true, but it only causes a yawn in the scene". Sports rights marketers such as industry leader Sportfive are now also convinced that the advertising boom in stadiums is showing its downside. "Some clubs are slowly realizing that you can't go on like this. Over the next few years, we will see a significant reduction in advertising messages per square meter," explains Sportfive CEO Thomas Röttgermann.