[Brekkie]

The furore will have nothing to do with it but yes, perhaps the biggest risk of losing them in 25 years now although they tend to prioritise MOTD over live sport as it brings in an audiencethat otherwise little watch the BBC - although ITV haven't bid aggressively for them since they were somewhat burnt with The Premiership.

Wonder if a split deal could work - BBC keep Saturday MOTD but ITV (or C4/C5) do Sundays and midweek?

[Humphrey Hacker]

I think the real solution to this problem is to have grassroots games played at 3pm Saturday, and Premier League and Championship games played at 2pm Sunday, or vice versa. It allows for a protected window for games in League 1 and below without televised competition, while allowing for all games to be shown on TV without undermining grassroots games.

If by 'grassroots' you mean Leagues 1 and 2 then that may have the opposite effect. With the utmost respect to supporters it's tricky to get many attendees to a game. Putting them all on tv would lower numbers even further.

[RhysJR]

There seems to be a potential row happening. Today, the TV fixtures for the opening weekend of December was released (arguably too short notice), with the rest of the schedule for December and January set to be released early next week.

The main bone of contention could be the first Premier League game scheduled on Christmas Eve since 1995.

twitter.com 

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www.premierleague.com 

TV picks for first round of matches in December 2023
See which Premier League matches are selected for live TV coverage in the UK and…
  Source: www.premierleague.com

[Brekkie]

Can't really see why Christmas Eve is considered more problematic than Boxing Day or New Years Day.

[RhysJR]

Can't really see why Christmas Eve is considered more problematic than Boxing Day or New Years Day.

Especially with it apparently set to be a lunchtime kick-off. In reality, the British transport network is not suitable for most kick-off times on most days of the year.


Up until the 1950s, football was regularly played on Christmas Day as well. Don't think that would go down too well today.

www.fourfourtwo.com 

What happened to football on Christmas Day? The lost history of a Victorian trad…
Football was once as much of a Christmas Day staple as the Queen's Speec…
  Source: www.fourfourtwo.com

[Ste]

Martin Tyler back commentating tonight on Spurs v Fulham on the international feed. His first commentary since leaving Sky.

[RhysJR]

Nice to see Martin Tyler shown on the gantry of Tottenham v. Fulham during half-time of Sky Sports' coverage. Tonight is Tyler's first commentary of the season (for the world feed) following him missing the end of last season with illness and subsuquently leaving Sky Sports over the summer.

[harshy]

Nice to see Martin Tyler shown on the gantry of Tottenham v. Fulham during half-time of Sky Sports' coverage. Tonight is Tyler's first commentary of the season (for the world feed) following him missing the end of last season with illness and subsuquently leaving Sky Sports over the summer.

Confirms they are broadcasting from the pitch itself I thought they would be sitting somewhere in Chiswick.

[RhysJR]

The two Sky Super Sunday matches next weekend (West Ham v. Everton & Manchester United v. Manchester City) are kicking off an hour earlier than the usual schedule at 13:00 then 15:30 BST. The other fixtures rescheduled to Sunday because of European action remain at the usual 14:00 kick-off. I would assume this is down to a police request for the Manchester derby although it does look a little awkward.

[Rdd]

When I see schedules being one hour earlier like that on that particular day of the year, I first question if it’s not just a listings quirk? That said it’s what’s down on the PL website, so I’m guessing not. Can’t see that one hour would make the difference on a Sunday though - maybe more likely if it was the earlier game.