FC Bayern München vs Kicker

Google brings Gemini and Pixel to FC Bayern partnership

Google will become a partner of FC Bayern München starting with the 2026/27 Bundesliga season. The collaboration centers on exploring how Google's digital services and artificial intelligence — highlighted by its Gemini model and Pixel devices — can expand the fan experience around the club. The article notes Google’s prior partnerships with German national teams and frames the move as an extension of the company’s involvement in German football. Published by HORIZONT on 2026-08-13 and written by Bettina Sonnenschein.

• Google will partner with FC Bayern München beginning in the 2026/27 Bundesliga season.
• The cooperation focuses on how digital services and artificial intelligence can expand the fan experience around the club.
• Google will make its Gemini AI and Pixel devices part of the partnership with FC Bayern.

AKQA Creates Google Pixel Garden Theory Campaign with Musiala

Google has launched a new social-first campaign titled 'Garden Theory' for its Pixel 11 Pro smartphone, featuring Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala. The campaign was created by digital agency group AKQA and showcases the phone's AI assistant Gemini and the 'HiLight' LED feature, which alerts users to important calls. The conceptual theme suggests that, like a garden, the phone provides a serene environment allowing users to focus amid digital noise. The campaign will run on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other digital platforms like Highsnobiety. It was produced by the production company Zero, directed by Rogelio González, with set design by Nina Oswald and floral artist Valentina Teinitzer De Pasquale. The campaign highlights how the Pixel 11 Pro helps users concentrate on what matters, aligning with Google's messaging that the device is designed to help users stay present.

• Google launched a product campaign for the Pixel 11 Pro called 'Garden Theory'.
• The campaign features footballer Jamal Musiala from FC Bayern Munich.
• The campaign was created by AKQA, a digital agency group.

Schalke Top in Worst Football Passwords Ranking

The German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom has published a negative ranking of the most commonly used passwords related to football clubs. The name 'Schalke04' emerged as the most frequently found football-related password in Germany, with approximately 539,000 instances, followed by 'Schalke04' with 203,000. Other clubs like Hannover 96 and BVB also appear high on the list. The ranking is based on passwords that were stolen by cybercriminals and offered on dark web channels, which Telekom's security division discovered and warned customers about. The list also highlights other simple passwords such as 'abc123' and 'password1' as highly common and insecure. Telekom advises users to avoid such simple passwords and considers passwords a legacy concept, recommending the use of passkeys as a more secure authentication method.

• Deutsche Telekom published a negative ranking of football-related passwords.
• The password 'schalke04' was found approximately 539,000 times in Germany.
• Other simple passwords like 'abc123' and 'password1' were found over 1 million times each.

Podcast-Powerplay: kicker und Eishockey NEWS holen Moritz Seider und Tim Stützle ans Mikrofon

Exklusiver Podcast mit zwei deutschen NHL-Stars: kicker und Eishockey NEWS starten einen Podcast mit Moritz Seider und Tim Stützle.

How kicker Integrates Editorial Standards and Brand Partnerships

In a podcast interview with turi2, kicker's Sales Director Lukas Ringer and Editorial Director Tobias Goldbrunner discussed how the sports publisher successfully balances journalistic integrity with advertising. Rather than implementing quick, low-value ad integrations, kicker prioritizes high-quality branded content that delivers real value to readers. Despite the early exit of the German national team during the World Cup, kicker generated over 3 billion pageviews by offering deep, analytical coverage. Ringer emphasized that local and regional league results provide highly targeted, valuable audiences for advertisers, and expressed confidence in their monetization strategy despite broader industry concerns about shrinking advertising budgets.

• kicker recorded over 3 billion pageviews on its website during the World Cup period.
• Sales Director Lukas Ringer stated that kicker avoids simple logo-slapping integrations in favor of high-quality branded content.
• The publisher leverages regional and local league data to offer highly targeted audience segments to advertisers.

ARD Opens Bundesliga Audio Streams to External Partners

ARD will make its live audio reports from Bundesliga stadiums available on external media partner platforms starting with the 2026/27 season. Until now the Sportschau live commentaries were limited to ARD channels such as ARD Sounds and Sportschau.de. The expansion allows selected external publishers — named in the report as kicker, RND and Bundesliga — to carry the live audiostreams. The change broadens distribution of ARD's football audio content across third-party sites and apps. The report was published by Horizont on 2026-08-25 (author: David Hein).

• ARD will allow external media partners to publish live Bundesliga audiostreams starting in the 2026/27 season.
• Named external partners in the article are kicker, RND and Bundesliga.
• Previously, the Sportschau live reports were available only on ARD platforms like ARD Sounds and Sportschau.de.