The phenomenon of media football is still gaining momentum in Germany. The second season of the Baller League wrapped up recently, featuring former soccer players and popular streamers competing to lead amateur teams to the championship title. Although the event attracted slightly fewer viewers than the first season, there are several valid reasons for that.
The Baller League is a joint project by Lukas Podolski and Mats Hummels, both former players for the German national team. The inaugural season kicked off in 2024, clearly inspired by the Spanish media football league, Kings League, where teams play matches under unconventional soccer rules. One standout feature of the Baller League is its focus on a German-speaking audience, with participants hailing from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Mentors include German ex-football players, musicians, streamers, and other popular content creators, such as MontanaBlack, Knossi, HandOfBlood, comedian Felix Lobrecht, and rapper Kontra K, among others.
Read also: Baller League inaugural season results
The second season of the Baller League ran from July 22 to October 7. Compared to the first season, there were some changes in the lineup of participants. For example, Team Hardstuck Royale left the league after its popular German streamer, Trymacs, exited the project. To fill the spot, the organizers brought in FC Nitro, led by professional soccer player and influencer Nader El-Jindaoui.
Las Ligas Ladies team / Photo: instagram.com/ballerleague
After a competitive group stage, four teams advanced to the playoffs of Baller League Season 2, including the newcomer, FC Nitro. However, the newcomer didn’t make it to the final match. In the championship game, Las Ligas Ladies, led by the female soccer duo Ana Maria Marković and Selina Cerci, staged a comeback to defeat Gönrgy Allstars, managed by streamer MontanaBlack and YouTuber Sascha Hellinger.
Like the first season, Baller League Season 2 featured matches streamed on the league's official channel and the channels of its ambassador mentors. For instance, broadcasts were available on the channels of MontanaBlack Knossi, HandofBlood, and other popular streamers. All league streams aired on Twitch, with German as the sole broadcast language. However, there was a slight change: the league had a reduced number of channels, with the most noticeable loss being the absence of Trymacs.
The audience reach for Baller League Season 2 was somewhat lower than in Season 1. For example, the average viewership on the streams dropped by 15.2%, and peak viewership decreased by 10%. Additionally, the total Hours Watched fell by 1.7 million, partly due to fewer Airtime. Despite these declines, the German league managed to retain its core audience, with the Average Viewers figure on its official channel even increasing by 14%.
A drop in metrics between seasons is common for media football leagues. For instance, the average number of viewers for Kings League fell by 29.5% between its debut and second seasons, while peak viewership dropped by 34.5% over the same period. While Baller League lags behind Kings League in absolute numbers, it even outperformed the Spanish league in terms of growth.
Overall, Baller League Season 2's metrics could have been even higher, but several direct and indirect factors played a role. Firstly, the departure of Trymacs, one of Germany's top streamers, was significant; his channel ranked among the top three for Hours Watched in the first season.
The second factor was the launch of The Icon League by popular German streamer Eliasn97 and former Real Madrid player Toni Kroos. The Icon League is another German media football league that not only competes directly with Baller League but also overlaps with its broadcast times. This project features popular content creators and football stars like Breel Embolo, Antonio Rüdiger, and Franck Ribéry.
Read also: Eliasn97’s support of The Icon League helped it to debut to a larger audience than The Baller League
Another indirect factor impacting Baller League Season 2's metrics was its overlap with several major esports tournaments, some of which took place in Germany, such as IEM Cologne 2024 and the 2024 World Championship.
