The 2024/25 Bundesliga season has seen the launch of new camera technology and greater insight into referees' decision making - all aimed at improving the viewing experience of Germany's top division through broadcasting innovations...

As well as innovative, intelligent thinking on the pitch, this campaign has also seen lots of interesting ideas come to life off the pitch.

This has manifested in the form of new technology being used to add to the thrill of the Bundesliga both inside and outside of the white lines.

One example is the return of RefCam, which first came to the Bundesliga last season when referee Daniel Schlager was kitted out with the technology for the Matchday 23 encounter between Eintracht Frankfurt hosted Wolfsburg. This season, it was Sven Jablonski with the camera, which gave fans unrivalled insight into Der Klassiker at the Signal Iduna Park earlier in the season.

RefCam allows fans to see the game from the referee’s perspective, providing greater understanding on how decisions are made and how conversations with players and colleagues alike unfold – not to mention getting to see the game from an on-pitch point of view.

Further clarity on refereeing decisions will be provided through the introduction of a DFL pilot project, which will see referees announce their decisions to the fans via the stadium loudspeakers. These announcements will be made concerning VAR reviews and the overturning of decisions, meaning fans won’t be left in the dark over on-field calls. The referee will inform the spectators which phase of match action has been reviewed, the result of the review and the final decision. The announcement will also be integrated into the live broadcast of media partners.

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This procedure is known internationally as "Public Announcement". On Matchday 20 of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, the project will be tested for the first time in the following matches:

• Fortuna Düsseldorf - Ulm (Saturday, 1 February, 1pm CET)
• Bayern Munich - Holstein Kiel (Saturday, 1 February, 3pm CET)
• St. Pauli - Augsburg (Saturday, 1 February, 3.30pm CET)
• Eintracht Frankfurt - Wolfsburg (Sunday, 2 February, 3.30pm CET)
• Bayer Leverkusen - Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2 February, 5.30pm CET)

Ansgar Schwenken, DFL Director of Match Operations, clarified why this is being introduced, and how it will improve the matchday experience: "With this test phase, we want to further increase the transparency of referee decisions and ensure greater understanding among the fans.

Knut Kircher, Managing Director of DFB Schiri GmbH, added: "Despite all the controversial discussions surrounding the video assistant, we want to continue working with the DFL and its clubs to help make referees' decisions in the stadium more transparent. We see the Public Announcement as a first clear step towards more clarification and have trained the procedures conscientiously with our referees."

Daniel Schlager, who was the first referee to wear RefCam last season, will now also be able to convey VAR decisions to supporters. - IMAGO/kolbert-press/Martin Agüera

Keeping the fans in mind, those at home as well as those in the stands, brings us to another exciting innovation that debuted this season. Matchday 16’s clash between Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayern Munich saw the introduction of the ‘Moving Camera’, with the main broadcast camera moving on a 70-metre track under the stadium roof at speeds of up to 23.6 mph in order to always keep the ball in focus.

To put that in perspective, it’s even quicker than Heidenheim's Sirlord Conteh, who set a new all-time Bundesliga speed record earlier this season after being clocked at 22.8 mph (36.82 km/h).

It’s not the first time a game between those two has witnessed the birth of technological innovation, either. Forty years ago, Gladbach and Bayern made history when their match on 11 December 1984 became the first to be shown live on TV in Germany.