ARMCHAIR viewers are set for a bonanza when the Premier League returns with five matches set to be played back-to-back on each Saturday and Sunday.
That would involve kick-offs starting at midday, then 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm with top-flight chiefs aiming to get the majority of the 92 remaining fixtures shown over the weekends.
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The Premier League is set to screen five back-to-back matches each Saturday and Sunday once football returnsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
SunSport reported on the push from broadcasters to show double-header midweek matches in the style of the Champions League at 6pm and 8pm.
The first game back is expected to be a Friday night match, but after that games will be at weekends or in the traditional midweek slots.
The Premier League host their next meeting on Thursday when fixtures lists and TV schedules will be high on the agenda as they look to strike a balance between spreading games out for live broadcast and helping players avoid injury due to an overcrowded schedule.
Clubs face a whopping £330million bill to pay back to TV companies even if the campaign is completed and are therefore very keen to accommodate broadcasting demands, and they will owe £762m if they fail to play their remaining matches.
But a “strategy for rebate minimisation” is also on the agenda for Thursday’s meeting that means they will try to keep live rights holders Sky, BT Sport and Amazon happy.
Despite calls from government officials for the Premier League to make some games free-to-air, today’s report states “the idea of BBC getting live games is unlikely to go down well with Sky and BT” – who have the live rights to 47 games of those left.
The 45 remaining after that, all to be shown by foreign rights holders, would then get shared with Sky getting 32 and BT a total of eight, while Amazon and the BBC would get five.
The Football Association is also still pushing ahead with the FA Cup in another boost for TV viewers.
All games are set to be shown live and could be played at Wembley behind-closed-doors.
And the 3pm Saturday blackout has also been lifted due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
That relaxation of the rule will allow Championship matches to be broadcast on a Saturday with clubs using their iFollow streaming service.
The Premier League looks set to kick-off on either June 12 or 19, which is a Friday night, a timeslot that is not planned to be used again by the top-flight but rather for Championship clashes.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
