BT will NOT make derby free to air
GOVERNMENT SNUBBED OVER MERSEY CLASH
BT SPORT have rejected the Government’s call to make Saturday’s Merseyside derby free for television viewers. Liverpool is the first city in England to be placed in the top tier of the new Covid-19 restrictions, meaning pubs in the area are closed and households are banned from mixing. But MPs fear fans could break the rules to watch the game at other people’s homes, as the match is only available to BT Sport subscribers.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said yesterday that making the derby free to air as a ‘gesture’ would be a ‘great thing to do’.
However, BT Sport ruled this out. A spokesperson told Sportsmail: ‘Broadcast revenue is critical to ensuring football clubs stay afloat, and together we help protect the overall football ecosystem. It’s impossible to start applying different commercial models to the many local lockdown situations.’
The Government persuaded broadcasters to show many Premier League games free to air when the 2019-2020 season resumed behind closed doors in June, including the last Merseyside derby. However, despite fans still not being allowed in stadiums this season, all but one match — Leicester’s 4-2 win over Burnley last month on the BBC — have been behind a paywall. This weekend also sees the launch of the new pay-per-view service on Sky Sports and BT Sport, where fans must pay an extra £14.95 to watch games not already being broadcast live.
In the first Government response to the scheme, which was revealed by Sportsmail, Dowden said: ‘I was not massively impressed. These things jar with the idea of coming together in this period of crisis.’
Dowden also dampened hopes that fans will be allowed to return to stadiums any time soon. The issue will be debated in Parliament on November 9 after more than 100,000 people signed a petition to end the lockout.
Dowden said: ‘ We are doing things that are positively hateful but we are doing it to secure public safety.’
Asked why audiences were allowed at indoor events after pictures emerged of a crowd at the London Palladium for a talk by Arsene Wenger, Dowden replied: ‘I accept people’s frustration at the inconsistency. But if we had social distancing for sports, that is a lot of people week in, week out going to sports stadiums up and down the country.’