FAN favourite show Match of the Day will continue to show Premier League highlights after striking a new TV deal.
The English top flight has struck a new four-year agreement until 2029 with BBC Sport, giving MOTD highlight rights for all 380 matches each season.
It means the popular show’s future is no longer in doubt, with its previous agreement expiring in 2025.
And Gary Lineker, whose deal to host the show also runs out that year, looks set to agree a whopping new contract with BBC bosses too.
Just months after being suspended over a tweet criticising the government’s language around their asylum policy, Lineker is reportedly set to pen a new £1.35million-a-year extension.
The contract will see him continue as the BBC’s top-paid presenter, despite taking a pay cut from £1.75m in 2020.
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And it is also set to dash Jermaine Jenas’ hopes of taking over from Lineker as the main man in the chair.
As for live TV match packages, TNT Sports and Sky Sports are the big winners.
Amazon Prime will no longer broadcast matches from the 2025/26 season after missing out on all five available deals.
TNT Sports won package A, which covers 52 live games during the season.
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The channel, formerly BT Sport, retains its 12.30pm Saturday matches and also gets full coverage of two midweek match rounds.
As for Sky Sports, they have been handed the remaining B, C, D and E packages to cover 215 games each term.
140 of those matches will be played on weekends, with the others falling on Fridays and Mondays — plus an extra three midweek match rounds.
And Sky Sports has, for the first time, been handed all 10 final day matches to broadcast simultaneously.
In total, the agreements will deliver a total of £6.7BILLION in revenue.
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce new deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will extend our partnership for a further four years and see more Premier League matches than ever before shown live from 2025/26 onwards.
“As longstanding and valued partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are renowned for consistently delivering world-class coverage and programming.
“We have enjoyed record audiences and attendances in recent seasons, and we know that their continued innovation will drive more people to watch and follow the Premier League.
“We are also extremely pleased to extend our partnership with BBC Sport, which will continue to bring weekly highlights of all Premier League matches to the widest possible audience in the UK.
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“Match of the Day has been an institution for generations of football fans in this country and remains incredibly popular with fans of all ages.
“The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League and is testament to our clubs, players and managers who continue to deliver the world’s most competitive football in full stadiums, and to supporters, who create an unrivalled atmosphere every week.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
