Football: New English Premier League TV Rights Deal
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Following a tendering process, the English Premier League has agreed a new record £6.7 billion domestic television rights deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports to show up to 270 live matches each season.
The BBC will continue to show highlights of the matches on their flagship football programme ‘Match of the Day’.
The new agreement will cover the four years from the 2025-2026 season and is reputedly the largest sports media rights deal concluded in the UK to date.
The new deal represents an increase of 4% over the current deal and, according to Richard Masters, the Chief Executive of the League “will provide financial certainty for clubs throughout professional football until at least 2029.”
Under the deal, Sky Sports will show a minimum of 215 matches each season, including Saturday 5.30 pm kick-offs, Sunday 2 pm and 4.30 pm kick-offs, as well as evening matches on Mondays and Fridays and three mid-week match rounds. Sky Sports will also show all ten matches on the final day of each season.
TNT Sports will show a minimum of 52 matches each season, including all the Saturday 12.30 pm kick-offs and two mid-week match rounds.
The Saturday 3 pm blackout spot remains, but all the Sunday 2 pm kick-offs will be televised.
Amazon, which currently shows 20 matches each season, does not figure in the new deal.
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
