Premier League ‘plan new 6.30pm Sunday kick-off time’ as part of their next TV rights deal… with executives ‘ready to scrap 3pm Saturday blackout’
- The Premier League are preparing to broadcast 25 per cent more matches
- Executives are set to offer broadcasters four televised matches on Sunday
- Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off’
The Premier League are reportedly set to shake up their television rights in a move that could see 25 per cent more matches broadcast during the season.
Executives are expected to propose that four Premier League matches could be televised on Sunday afternoon, according to the Telegraph.
Matches would reportedly kick off on Sundays between noon and 6.30pm as part of the shake up.
The proposal comes as the Premier League faced pressure to scrap the 3pm blackout on Saturdays.
New kick-off times on Sunday, as well as additional Friday and Monday slots, would reportedly appease broadcasters and clubs.
The Premier League are reportedly expected to offer broadcasters four Sunday matches
The proposed kick-off times could face opposition from fans over challenges posed by travel
Women’s Super League matches could be moved to the 3pm Saturday slot as part of the move
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The slots would reportedly could see matches in the Women’s Super League and Championship switched to the 3pm slot on Saturday, increasing exposure to both competitions.
Mail Sport reported in June that the Premier League was planning an increase in the number of live games shown each season from 200 to 270.
This included all Sunday matches being made available by the start of the 2024-25 campaign, which would force fans to adapt to a variety of kick-off times throughout the day.
The move would bring a major cash boost to clubs playing in the Europa League, as all their games on the subsequent weekend will be televised.
This would net them around £1million-per-match in a Premier League facilities fee based on the current payments.
Opposition to the changes could come from supporters, with Man City supporters having threatened to boycott this season’s Community Shield over the kick-off time.
The match against Arsenal in August had initially been due to kick off at 5:30pm kick-off at Wembley, but was moved to 4pm after discussions between the Football Association, broadcasters and the two clubs.
The top-flight’s current domestic TV deal is worth £5billion over three years after the previous contract agreed in 2018 was extended without an auction during the pandemic.
The Premier League are hopeful of securing a significant increase for the 2024 to 2027 cycle, particularly as more games will be on offer.
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