Andreas Preuß (TTBL Supervisory Board Chairman): "The 'The Finals' concept fits our media strategy".

Borussia Düsseldorf's manager Andreas Preuß comments in an interview in his function as chairman of the supervisory board of the TTBL on the plans for a return of the final match in the Table Tennis Bundesliga to the program of the Multi-DM "The Finals" and also takes a first look at the TTBL Cup Final on January 8 in Neu-Ulm.

Andreas Preuß, the Bundestag of the German Table Tennis Federation has cleared the way for the participation of players in the TTBL finals in 2023, which may not take place until a date in the following season, also in the case of contracts that have already expired. The background to this are plans for the renewed inclusion of the final match of the Table Tennis Bundesliga in the program of the now established Multi-DM "The Finals" broadcast with very wide coverage on ARD and ZDF. What is the status of this in concrete terms?

I know about the plans through the regular information provided by TTBL Managing Director Nico Stehle to both the Supervisory Board and the clubs. According to this, the actual status is that the TTBL final will take place on the second weekend of July in Düsseldorf in the Burgwächter-Castello-Halle because of the hosting of "Die Finals" in NRW, where the former Europe Top 12 tournament and also Bundesliga matches of our club Borussia Düsseldorf have taken place in the past. However, there are still some organizational arrangements to be made, of which the special permission by the DTTB-Bundestag was only one. But there are still some other questions of detail.

Can you give examples of this?

A number of areas are affected. This applies to organizational and financial matters, but also to sponsorship. For the TTBL, holding the final in Düsseldorf would be a challenge from an organizational point of view, because unlike at our traditional final venue in Frankfurt, most things would be completely new. But beyond that, there is still a need for coordination with regard to the broadcasting rights. However, solutions to all questions are being worked on in the background, even if the final decisions will probably not be made until after the turn of the year. In general, however, this is a pure win situation for us, and of course we expect a large media coverage, because "The Finals" will again be broadly broadcast by the public broadcasters and we can get longer broadcast times. So despite all the work, we naturally see the added value and the positive first. It's a great opportunity to be there again.

The TTBL was already part of "The Finals" in 2021, and table tennis was also part of the program at the European Championships last summer in Munich. Is table tennis positioning itself specifically as part of the sports family behind soccer?

This kind of concept, with an amalgamation of several sports, has definitely been convincing. There is also a desire and need for sports outside of soccer. The development of corresponding offerings is an opportunity for everyone involved. For us as the TTBL, the concept fits our media strategy all the better, of course, because starting next summer, the TTBL will be bundled together with handball, basketball and volleyball on the DYN platform to create an attractive overall offering for sports fans.

Last year in Dortmund, para table tennis was part of the program at "The Finals" in addition to the TTBL finals. Is that also part of the plans for 2023?

We will definitely try to integrate para table tennis into the schedules. Para table tennis, like the entire Para sport, is becoming more and more important and thus also enhances the entire event.

After the break at this year's edition of "The Finals", is table tennis striving to be a permanent part of this multi-event?

In the long run, "Die Finals" is definitely something for table tennis. Whether it can always be something for the TTB finals, too, will have to be seen; after all, that would have to be agreed hand in hand and in coordination with the DTTB.

In this context, is it also conceivable to integrate the TTBL final into the "German Table Tennis Finals" planned for 2024 in Erfurt with the national championships for women and men, youth 15, youth 19, seniors and performance classes?

There are no prohibitions on thinking. Whether such a variant can already be a topic for 2024 does not know. But if it fits into all the overall concepts, it could also be a perspective - after all, the TTBL and DTTB are also partners in the development of our sport in Germany. On the other hand, we as a league have also established a standing as an independent organizer of top-class events in recent years through our TTBL Finals and TTBL Cup Finals, which has also resulted in very satisfactory TV coverage.

Next up in this series is the TTBL Cup Final in Neu-Ulm on January 8. How are the preparations going?

Things are going well. We are particularly pleased with the advance sales, which have already picked up, with around 1,500 tickets already ordered.