TV rankings out: HSV suddenly on course for the Champions League | OneFootball

In the first year after returning to the top flight, HSV have made an impressive comeback to the Bundesliga – and not just in terms of results on the pitch.

As shown by an analysis of live broadcasts on Sky and DAZN published by Sport Bild, HSV rank third among all Bundesliga clubs in average viewing figures.

An average of 537,000 viewers watched the Rothosen’s matches. That means the promoted side were only beaten by Bayern Munich (1.03 million) and Borussia Dortmund (814,000). In a fictional table based on TV reach, HSV would even secure a Champions League spot.

Particularly remarkable: HSV finished ahead of numerous established Bundesliga clubs. Eintracht Frankfurt (487,000), VfB Stuttgart (473,000), RB Leipzig (415,000) and Bayer Leverkusen (391,000) all trailed the Hamburg club by a clear margin. 1. FC Köln also posted strong numbers with 518,000 viewers, good enough for fourth place.

Photo: IMAGO

HSV clearly ahead of northern rivals

The gap to their northern rivals is also significant. Werder Bremen averaged 376,000 viewers and finished 11th. FC St. Pauli, despite being relegated, still attracted an impressive 434,000 viewers per match and came in seventh.

The figures underline just how much pulling power HSV still have. Not even the club’s seven-year spell in the second division has changed that. The catch: financially, they benefit very little from this strong performance. In the TV money table for the 2026/27 season, HSV will rank only 15th.

The reason is the multi-year calculation of media revenue, in which sporting results from the recent past play a decisive role. Behind the Hanseatic club will be only the three promoted teams: SC Paderborn, FC Schalke 04 and SV 07 Elversberg.

So when it comes to viewing figures, HSV are already among the Bundesliga’s top group. But it will still be quite some time before that is also reflected in TV revenue.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.