The Saturday blackout was lifted over the festive period to allow Scottish games to be broadcast but the Premier League and others will not push to follow suit just yet
Armchair viewers are getting a potential taste of the future for live football matches. The 3pm TV blackout has been lifted for successive Saturdays to allow Scottish games to be broadcast over the festive period.
Celtic’s thrilling 4-2 win over Livingston was on Sky on last Saturday and the broadcaster is doing the same this coming weekend for the Dundee derby at Tannadice. It is not the first time it has happened this season because the Scottish FA applied to UEFA to allow Motherwell’s 1-0 win over Aberdeen in the League Cup to be broadcast live in September.
Premier Sports also showed Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Espanyol that same weekend when exceptions were granted to the traditional 3pm Saturday TV blackout which dates back to the 1960s.
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However, Mirror Sport understands the Premier League has no immediate plans to push for the same. There is a growing belief in the industry that it may come into play after the current £6.7 billion TV deal comes to an end in 2029.
But the current record-breaking deal – which allows Sky and TNT to show up to 270 live games a season – has only just started and it would be hard to imagine that being renegotiated at such an early stage.
The EFL even explored the possibility when it put its own last set of rights out to tender in November 2022. Ultimately, they did not go down that path as the EFL struck a mega five year deal with Sky worth £935m which was a game-changer for the League and its clubs.
However, the reason why industry insiders believe it is inevitable the blackout will be lifted in the future is the need to show more games to bring in more revenue to stop the TV deals shrinking in value because of the ever-growing threat of piracy.
There is a strong theory that future TV deals may offer EVERY game and the latest vastly expanded £6.7bn contract will provide a guide for the future. Sky are already able to show every game on a Sunday and fans are enjoying the coverage.
The Premier League has a strong Anti-Piracy policy which details the threat of illegal streaming together with piracy, theft and fraud. Lawyers have actively pursued piracy gangs, been successful in pushing for prison sentences and identifying guilty parties who use illegal “fire sticks.”
They have also launched a “Boot Out Piracy” campaign in partnership with overseas broadcast partners which has led to convictions and prison sentences for offenders as far away as Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. High streets in the United Kingdom are also a growing concern with cafes and barber shops awash with illegal streams of Premier League games.
The 3pm blackout was originally designed to stop fans from staying at home rather than going to live football and the only time it has been lifted on a regular basis was during the Covid pandemic.
The blackout – which relates to Article 48 of Uefa’s statutes – comes into effect when 50 per cent of fixtures in the top two divisions are scheduled to kick off at 3pm. But the respective FAs still have to apply to UEFA to get it lifted.
Matches from foreign leagues such as La Liga and Serie A also cannot be shown live between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays.
However, the Scottish clubs said that UEFA relaxed the rule over the festive period which is why the Celtic game and the Dundee derby can be shown. Dundee United v Dundee is being shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football from 2.45pm with a 3pm kick-off.
A full fixture list in the Premier League last weekend prevented the same happening in England but the EFL has been able to boast a host of live games throughout the festive period.
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