EPL clubs could play Sat evening games
LONDON, June 13, (RTRS): Premier League matches could kick off as late as 7:45 pm from the 2019-20 season as part of plans to broadcast at least half of the 380 games live on television, according to a report in The Times.
The plan was proposed after broadcasters Sky reported that television viewership for league matches fell 14 percent last season while subscriptions to their mobile video service and online live video provider rose by 31 percent.
“As we anticipated, the way customers engage with live sport is changing, with strong growth in newer, digital-first platforms,” a Sky spokesman told The Times.
Supporters are likely to oppose the change as travelling to games will become harder compared to the current 3:00 pm kick-offs but the league’s growing international popularity is expected to provide incentive to showcase more matches.
“The Premier League is more popular than ever due to the fantastic football put on by clubs and the commitment of fans,” a spokesman for the league told The Times.
“In the season 2016-17 stadiums were a record 96.5 percent full, unique broadcasting reach in the UK was up 2 percent on the previous season and matches were available to watch in one billion homes in 188 countries.”
Broadcasters can submit their bids for domestic rights by the end of the year and the final decision is expected to be made in February.
Sky and BT Sport acquired domestic broadcasting rights worth £5.14 billion ($6.52 billion) for three years in 2015.
The joke doing the rounds on Twitter on Tuesday was that manager Ronald Koeman was undergoing a medical at Everton after agreeing to pay £30 million ($38 million) for Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
While the fee reported by the Liverpool Echo includes addons over the years and has yet to be confirmed, it appears close enough to the truth to provoke a sharp intake of breath.
Argentina shrugged off Lionel Messi’s controversial absence by thumping six goals past minnows Singapore in a one-sided friendly on Tuesday.
Messi’s pre-game departure – reportedly to prepare for his wedding – prompted grumbles among fans but Argentina were not short of firepower as six different players found the net.
Defender Federico Fazio and Carlos Correa scored in the first half before Alejandro Gomez, Leandro Paredes, Lucas Alario and Angel di Maria poured on the goals in the second half.
Coach Jorge Sampaoli said the display, on top of last week’s 1-0 friendly win against Brazil in Melbourne, gave him hope for Argentina’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
The two-time world champions lie fifth in the South American group, outside the automatic qualifying spots with games against Uruguay, Venezuela, Peru and Ecuador to come.
“We aren’t just (a group of) 25 people but a lot more, especially against the likes of Uruguay which will pave the way for our qualification to the next World Cup,” Sampaoli said.
“This enthusiasm is going to fill the people of Argentina up, like those who woke up early to watch the game.
“So we can deliver the opportunity and show them that the team is alive and will fight. We are definitely going to need a lot more people wearing our Argentinian colours with what lies ahead.”
Argentina, who were also missing Gonzalo Higuain and Nicolas Otamendi, were in control from the outset but it took until the 24th minute before Fazio flicked in a header from a corner.
Argentina grabbed their second five minutes later, with Sevilla striker Carlos Correa tapping in at the near post from a cross from Juventus’s Paulo Dybala.
Argentina cut loose after the hourmark, scoring their last four goals – while outclassed Singapore, 159th in the FIFA rankings, didn’t manage a shot on target all night.
“If the structure worked hand in hand with ball domination and chance creation, we’d be talking about a much larger score margin, very rarely seen in football,” Sampaoli said.
The absence of Messi had prompted anger with social media users demanding ticket refunds, while Singapore’s head coach V. Sundramoorthy called his withdrawal “unfortunate”.