Almuth Schult is the first woman in a men’s European Championship to work as a TV expert for ARD. It receives rave reviews. A much more famous expert, on the other hand, has problems.
Almuth Schult’s laughing fit is one of the most beautiful television moments of the European Football Championship. The national soccer player, who was engaged as an expert by ARD, began to snort again and again after her colleague Kevin-Prince Boateng had said: “He’s been in the game for so long …” The laughing Schult even had to pass the next question: ” I’m out.”
Schult delighted the TV audience with her naturalness and humor. But also with their analyzes, which were much more accurate and relentless than with Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is also under contract with the first and caused the broadcaster to worry for other reasons during the course of the tournament.
No negative feedback for Almuth Schult
What does an expert have to bring along for a successful television appearance? “I think authenticity, that you take the person seriously, whatever they are, that you feel good when you listen to them, that they are eloquent and that they have knowledge, take the viewers with them and inform them.” Schult had told the DPA news agency before the tournament – and according to the audience and professional TV critics, the 30-year-old fully met these requirements in the following weeks.
Schult received consistently good ratings. “There was absolutely no negative feedback,” said ARD EM team boss Steffen Simon. “We were pleasantly surprised.” Those in charge of the public broadcaster had feared that there could have been hostility and insults on the Internet as with the ZDF commentator Claudia Neumann.
“That has a lot to do with her naturalness,” said the ARD team boss and praised the appearance of the 30-year-olds: “Her tactical explanations are sensational. She is totally courageous and clear.” The goalkeeper, who has completed 91 missions for the national team and is under contract with Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg, made good use of her experience.
Schweinsteiger’s surreptitious advertising is still being worked on at ARD
Schult has also gained fame through her appearances, as she reported to the “Sportbuzzer” portal: “Once a taxi driver rolled down the window and shouted: ‘You’re off the television, cool, you’re doing a good job!'” On the other hand: “Nothing has changed in the village where I live. That is the most important thing anyway,” said Schult, who lives with her husband and children in Wendland in Lower Saxony.
While the national goalkeeper, who is also part of the “Football can do more” initiative, gave ARD a lot of pleasure during the European Championship, Schweinsteiger became a problem case. That had nothing to do with the criticism of his joint appearances with Jessy Wellmer, but with the surreptitious advertising affair.
The case has still not been finally resolved and is to be “worked up internally” in the coming weeks, as the ARD says. An appearance by Schweinsteiger had caused anger at the station because he had advertised a watch at the same time.
The expert, who is under contract until the end of 2020, “published a post on social media at half-time without our knowledge as part of a paid advertising partnership,” criticized the broadcaster. He also “made it very clear that the ARD, according to its guidelines, does not tolerate any form of surreptitious advertising and unrecognized product placement of its protagonists”. The first is still waiting for a statement from Schweinsteiger and his management.
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
