You’ll have to pay a little extra to see your team in action.
With no sign of fans returning to football grounds anytime soon, the Premier League are set to agree a new streaming deal in which all non-televised games will be available to watch.
There’s a twist, however.
You won’t be able to see the games on TV.
They’ll only be available on Sky Sports and BT Sport, and not on the usual TV stations. They’ll only be available through the associated apps. You’ll also have to pay a little bit more to get a glimpse of your team in action – even if you’re already a subscriber to these channels.
Pay per view
Fans will have to pay £14.95 to watch those Premier League matches that are not scheduled to be televised.
Via the BT and Sky Sports PPV packages, it will cost the guts of 15 extra quid (sterling) to watch the games.
Newcastle v Man United on October 17 is first up behind the additional pay wall.
This is a really bad move by the @premierleague to charge £14.95 for single matches that have been shown free for 6 months !
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) October 9, 2020
Since football resumed after lockdown, you’ve been able to watch all Premier League games through four main broadcasters: Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and BBC.
However, it is believed that Sky and BT, the Premier League’s main broadcast partners, are becoming extremely frustrated at no longer having exclusive rights to games.
Both Sky and BT are set to demand more cash.
Premier League clubs make most of their money through TV deals, but the impact of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the 2019/20 season, meaning broadcasters lost out on agreed fixtures.
As a result, Premier League clubs are already having to pay back over £330 million in TV revenue to the main broadcasters. A further loss of revenue would hamper clubs even further.
Football clubs up and down the country are growing increasingly angry at the government not allowing fans back into stadiums when certain matches, for example, have been available to watch in cinemas.
A petition to allow fans back into grounds has already amassed over 190,000 signatures.
This has prompted Premier League clubs in particular to look for a new broadcast model. As it stands, five matches across each gameweek in October are to be moved for TV coverage. But that still leaves many games without coverage.
Some clubs asked for an online streaming model in line with the EFL’s iFollow system, but this was shelved as some clubs felt it was too ‘divisive’.
The Premier League said in a statement: “Under these new arrangements, the current live match selections will remain in place and will be broadcast as normal. In addition, the five matches per round not already selected will be made available to supporters on a pay-per-view basis, accessed via BT Sport Box Office and Sky Sports Box Office platforms.
“Clubs today agreed this interim solution to enable all fans to continue to watch their teams live. The Premier League has worked closely with Sky Sports and BT Sport to provide this arrangement and is grateful for their support. The agreement will be regularly reviewed in consultation with clubs and in line with any decisions made by government regarding the return of spectators to stadiums.
“Football is not the same without supporters at matches. The Premier League and our clubs remain committed to the safe return of fans as soon as possible.”
