Premier League agrees a pay-per view deal
THE Premier League has confirmed plans to make every top-flight match available through pay-per-view alongside Sky Sports and BT Sport, writes Elliott Jackson.
After the resumption of the 2019/20 Premier League season in June, every match was made available on TV for supporters through Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and the BBC, with a portion of matches made free-to-air.
That didn’t continue into the start of the new campaign, with hopes fans would be reintroduced to stadiums by this month.
However, the rise in cases of Covid-19 has led to the government suspending pilot events, leaving some Premier League fans with no way to access their team in action.
With fans still unable to attend live matches, Premier League clubs continue to lose millions in matchday revenue, while broadcasters are refusing to pay extra for more matches.
As a result, the Premier League has confirmed that a new pay-to-view option will be introduced this month, to supplement the matches already designated for TV coverage, enabling every Premier League supporter to watch their team.
A statement on Friday read: “The Premier League today confirmed all fixtures until the end of October will continue to be made available to fans to watch live in the UK. “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 have 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 supporters as soon as possible.
“An updated broadcast list of matches will be announced shortly.”
The Premier League is yet to reveal its pricing.
However, the Leicester Mercury understands that a fee of £14.95 per game will be the price for the new streaming service, almost 50 per cent more than the EFL’s iFollow service.
Clubs continue to lose millions, while broadcasters are refusing to pay extra for more matches