Premier League’s 3pm TV blackout ‘is lifted for next season’, opening the door for EVERY game to be shown live amid fears fans would tune into illegal streams
- All games during Project Restart were either televised or streamed online
- The Saturday 3pm blackout was lifted with fans not allowed inside stadiums
- That is set to continue so long as terraces can’t be completely full next season
- The 2020-21 Premier League season begins on the weekend of September 12-13
All Premier League games are reportedly set to be televised next season whilst matches continue to take place behind closed doors, with the Saturday 3pm TV blackout to be lifted.
During Project Restart, with no supporters allowed inside stadiums, all the remaining Premier League matches last season were either televised or streamed online, via either Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC or Amazon Prime.
And according to The Times, the impending confirmation from the FA of the lifting of the traditional TV blackout on a Saturday means the Premier League will change its traditional position for next season too and allow all matches to be available to British viewers from the start date of the new season, on the weekend of September 12-13.
All Premier League games are set to be available for British viewers with the blackout lifting
The Premier League’s main broadcast partner, Sky Sports, could air more games as a result
The report details that the 3pm blackout will remain lifted until supporters come back into stadiums, and could extend until full crowds are permitted into grounds.
There are concerns that if all matches aren’t made available to British viewers, fans could use illegal streaming services in order to watch their team play.
Below the Premier League too, Championship, League One and League Two games are set to be made available on Sky Sports or via the streaming platform iFollow.
The traditional blackout was lifted in April due to the coronavirus crisis and the consequent proceeding of matches without supporters on the terraces.
However, whilst some games during Project Restart were made available free-to-air, this is not expected to be repeated.
The Premier League, led by chief Richard Masters (pic), are finalising plans for the new season
The Saturday afternoon blackout of football in England was first introduced in the 1980s, in order to encourage fans to continue attending matches and to promote participation at grassroots level.
The Premier League season is set to start on the weekend of September 12-13, though games are yet to be scheduled for television
The standout fixture on the opening weekend is champions Liverpool taking on newly-promoted Leeds United at Anfield.
TV games have been confirmed for The Championship though, starting on Friday 11 September, with Watford taking on Middlesbrough on Sky Sports.