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With clicks like Swift: TTBL with a strong presence on TikTok
The German Table Tennis League (TTBL) has become a social media phenomenon in recent years. The spectacular rally clips regularly go viral.
Millions of clicks on the internet, more and more fans in the halls: The
The German Table Tennis League is growing among the “small” sports in
Germany in the social networks like no other. The lightning-fast
Thanks to the TTBL, the lightning-fast backstroke sport is thrilling the
sports-loving audience with crazy highlight clips. The most popular videos
can even compete with the viewing figures of pop star Taylor Swift.
The league was launched on TikTok in November 2022, and the second clip
already achieved seven-figure clicks. “We were also surprised
surprised that it made such a big splash and that the videos went viral quite often,
videos went viral quite often,” explained Lukas Schwarz, who is responsible for the TTBL's social media work, among other things, in an interview with SID.
The league was launched on TikTok in November 2022, and the second clip
already achieved seven-figure clicks. “We were also surprised
surprised that it made such a big splash and that the videos went viral quite often,
videos went viral quite often,” explained Lukas Schwarz, who is responsible for the TTBL's social media work, among other things, in an interview with SID.
The aim was “to show the cool moments and highlights that happened in the
the table tennis Bundesliga matches even further outwards and to reach even more people,” explained the league manager for digital media and digital media and media cooperations. The aim was to increase the reach, cooperation with the streaming service Dyn, which has held the broadcasting rights since 2023
broadcasting rights since 2023, also helped.
Since then, views in the millions are not uncommon. The
most-viewed clip - a “behind-the-back shot” by Austrian Daniel Habesohn
Habesohn - has been viewed 54.7 million times so far. This figure would even among the clips of pop phenomenon Swift.
“It went viral on TikTok, it went viral on YouTube Shorts,”
Schwarz explains, adding up the number of clicks to over 140 million.
million. For comparison: the most popular TikTok video of the German
Soccer Association (DFB) “only” had 25.6 million views. Habesohn had
the video “proudly posted it on his Instagram story, of course”.
The German top league also recorded a new record in the halls in the last
main round: 66,815 spectators were attracted by Timo Boll and Co.
Timo Boll and Co. to the matches, the TTBL recorded an increase of 24 percent in the average attendance. Highlights such as the cup final four and the final of the German Championship regularly attract several thousand fans to the sold-out
sold-out halls.
What's more, the players use their tricks as virtual advertising. Although
the scenes also euphorized the spectators in the halls, “but through
social media, you can reach several million people,” said Schwarz.
At best, the strong online presence should also further increase awareness of the sport as a whole. After all, there are “already significantly more channels on TikTok that are involved in table tennis,” he reports.
One thing is certain: The sport is constantly gaining new fans thanks to its strong presence. “We often get comments like: 'I didn't even know that table tennis could look like that because I only know it from the playground'. That's why we've not only raised awareness for us as a league, but for the sport in general.”
Source: SID
