22-09-2023, 10:46 PM
There have been reports this week detailing what the makeup of the next Premier League broadcast cycle will likely look like.
The main headlines are:
[*]There will be a 25% increase in the number of matches broadcast in the UK, with around 50 extra matches to be shown;
[*]These extra matches could be included by having a new kick-off of around 18:30 on Sunday nights. There could be four kick-offs on Sundays;
[*]There could be five packages of fifty games (not sure how that will be broken up with current weekend packages having 32 games) and the rights length could be four years rather than three;
[*]There are some calls to scrap the Saturday blackout window, with this being a "gateway drug" for pirating streams. It is possible that WSL fixtures could be broadcast at Saturday 3pm, a less controversial option than airing top flight men's football.
In short, this will be much further inconvenience for match-going fans, who despite massively enhancing the product are neglected and treated as an afterthought at best by governing bodies and broadcasters.
Personally, I see the days of the 3pm blackout being numbered, with the rampant use of illegal streams and the clamour to show ever more football. It doesn't look like it will vanish in this rights cycle (and with the EFL moving many games away from 3pm for the benefit of the new Sky contract) but its future looks increasingly more fragile year by year. The core reason given to keep it, to protect lower league attendances, I could easily imagine being disproven if teh blackout is lost, as attendance figures are very healthy across the pyramid even with the ever increasing number games available to view from home over the last thirty years.
twitter.com
Basically recycles all of the same info but is free:
uk.sports.yahoo.com
The main headlines are:
[*]There will be a 25% increase in the number of matches broadcast in the UK, with around 50 extra matches to be shown;
[*]These extra matches could be included by having a new kick-off of around 18:30 on Sunday nights. There could be four kick-offs on Sundays;
[*]There could be five packages of fifty games (not sure how that will be broken up with current weekend packages having 32 games) and the rights length could be four years rather than three;
[*]There are some calls to scrap the Saturday blackout window, with this being a "gateway drug" for pirating streams. It is possible that WSL fixtures could be broadcast at Saturday 3pm, a less controversial option than airing top flight men's football.
In short, this will be much further inconvenience for match-going fans, who despite massively enhancing the product are neglected and treated as an afterthought at best by governing bodies and broadcasters.
Personally, I see the days of the 3pm blackout being numbered, with the rampant use of illegal streams and the clamour to show ever more football. It doesn't look like it will vanish in this rights cycle (and with the EFL moving many games away from 3pm for the benefit of the new Sky contract) but its future looks increasingly more fragile year by year. The core reason given to keep it, to protect lower league attendances, I could easily imagine being disproven if teh blackout is lost, as attendance figures are very healthy across the pyramid even with the ever increasing number games available to view from home over the last thirty years.
twitter.com
Basically recycles all of the same info but is free:
uk.sports.yahoo.com