Karl Baumann
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Video Interview Transcript
Hi, I am Karl Baumann and I produce all the American football at Sky Sports.
The best thing about my job is the positive reaction from friends and even strangers who find out what I do and have watched my show, and they just give me lots of praise. That is the best thing about it: having a physical effect on the people at home.
It is the only thing I ever really wanted to do as a kid and it is very difficult to get into, but you've got to be really driven, and it is not only glamour. The most important thing is people who are willing to work. The rewards are there, but you have to go through a lot of hard work to get to the rewards.
I did media studies, but it was a very broad course. Basically I just laboured away and tried to get work experience to build that on my CV. I was lucky enough to get work experience at a production firm that does a show for Sky. I was here at Sky, I got wind of a conversation - I was the right guy at the right place at the right time. I [told them] I knew everything there is to know about American football. I started as a tea boy, and worked my way up to editor's assistant, assistant producer to producer. Sky is a very good company in that you can go very far very quickly. My old assistant was practically producing a year after he was with me.
You must have a love for sports to work in Sky Sports - that is the number one thing I would say, and basically work hard and be keen.
I am very happy with what I do at the moment, but I hope to produce some bigger shows on other live sports. I am only 32 and the sky is the limit.