All clear for German professional sport: According to information from the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Government’s Energy Saving Ordinance will not affect the professional leagues in football, handball, basketball and ice hockey.
The BMI assumes that the regulation “and the regulations made there for the use of advertising systems do not result in any negative consequences for the implementation of advertising-financed sporting events (e.g. events with perimeter advertising)”, said a spokeswoman for the ministry, which is also responsible for sports, when asked by dpa.
Fears were voiced in the Handball Bundesliga on Wednesday that the ban on operating “illuminated or light-emitting advertising systems” from 10 p.m. to 4 p.m. the following day would also apply to LED boards in the halls and stadiums. This could have led to serious losses in the advertising revenues of the clubs.
The Profisport Deutschland initiative, an association of the German Football League, German Ice Hockey League, Basketball Bundesliga and Handball Bundesliga, had already pointed out on Thursday that “LED boards in event venues such as halls and stadiums are not covered by the usage restriction for illuminated advertising systems recorded”.