The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) are set to hold talks early next year about ending the long-standing Saturday 3pm television blackout, potentially allowing all matches to be broadcast live for the first time. The UK is the last country in Europe to enforce the blackout, which prohibits live broadcasts of football between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays.
Both leagues are eager to sell all their games to domestic broadcasters in the next rights cycle, aiming to boost revenue. Currently, the Premier League and EFL show a record 270 and 1,059 matches respectively on domestic TV, mostly on Sky Sports. However, they have concluded that selling every game is the only way to increase income.
The EFL's current deal with Sky Sports, worth £935 million over five years, covers 1,059 games per season from the Championship, League One, League Two, the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy. If the blackout is removed, the EFL could make all 1,891 of its matches available. The Premier League, whose domestic deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports is worth £6.7 billion over four years, has seen the real-terms value decline by 23% from the previous cycle.
The blackout is governed by Article 48 of Uefa's statutes, which allows territories to prohibit live football broadcasts for two and a half hours on Saturdays or Sundays. The Football Association (FA), responsible for applying Article 48, is unlikely to object to its removal. However, if lifted, 3pm Premier League kick-offs would be broadcast across the UK, potentially affecting attendances.
Article 48 is also enforced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, so the Premier League and EFL may face compensation demands from those leagues if the blackout is scrapped. Many Premier League clubs' American owners have pushed for broadcasting every game, as is standard in US sports.
