British soccer’s Saturday 3pm TV blackout ‘set to be SCRAPPED’ – having been launched in 1960 – throughout talks for subsequent broadcast offers because the variety of video games proven stay continues to extend
The Saturday 3pm blackout could be scrapped during the next negotiations for Premier League and EFL broadcast deals, according to a report.
The United Kingdom are the only country in Europe that still have the Saturday blackout in place when it comes to games that kick off in the 3pm slot on the day not being allowed to be shown on live TV.
Introduced in 1960, the ruling was put in place to encourage fans to attend games, but has resulted in a number of Premier League games in particular being moved to different time slots to be shown as they happen.
There is currently a 12:30pm Premier League time slot on a Saturday, as well as a 5:30pm period where games are often shown. Games also take place on Monday nights, Friday nights, an, occasionally, even later on Saturdays.
A number of EFL games have also been moved to earlier kick offs this season due to Sky’s new coverage of the leagues, with other games usually remaining as 3pm kick offs.
But, according to the Times, it will be increasingly difficult for the blackout to survive beyond the 2028-29 season, which is when the current deals over broadcasting rights expire.
From next season, every Premier League game that does not kick off at 3pm on a Saturday will be shown live, which regularly features a number of teams also competing in Europe, especially the Europa League and Conference League.
This season, Manchester United and Tottenham play in the Europa League and Chelsea the Conference League, meaning their matches are always on a Sunday at the earliest on a European week.
Three teams, as well as a selected Sunday match for broadcast, mean that potentially the majority of games on a Premier League weekend are now shown, with just four usually played at 3pm on a Saturday.
That has led to views that the blackout is outdated, with fans unable to watch their teams unless they are in the stadium or via an illegal stream – something that the division is understood to be keen to clamp down on.
The new EFL deal, meanwhile, allows more than 1,000 matches a year to be shown, and the EFL are understood to have considered scrapping the blackout for its latest TV deal.
According to the report, the EFL have analysed that there has not been a major impact on attendances this season upon the introduction of the deal, with figures largely mirroring those of last season.
Games are also allowed to be shown live if there are no Premier League fixtures, such as during an international break.
The latest TV deal, which starts next season, will allow Sky and TNT Sports to show 270 live Premier League matches over the season, up from 200.
It remains to be seen what a potentially move would mean for shows such as Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, which is seen as an alternative to watching Premier League games live.
