This record Premier League deal is a whole new ball game for fans
More consequential than many matches – this is the result clubs and fans across the Premier League had been waiting for.
It would seem like little has changed with the TV rights auction still seeing Sky Sports as the dominant domestic broadcaster and Discovery-owned TNT Sports as a junior partner.
But it signals the enduring status of linear broadcasters – albeit ones with growing streaming offerings – as Amazon’s six-year stint showing live games comes to an end.
And one of the main gripes of fans is addressed with these four-year rights packages from 2025.
The only matches that will now not be available live in Britain are in the 3pm Saturday window.
The blackout is maintained to protect match-going attendances in the lower leagues that can run into their thousands even in the fifth tier.
But rather than just two matches on Sky’s Super Sunday broadcast, every match will be made available live.
That ends a situation as happened on Sunday, when only one of four matches was able to be broadcast in the UK – because the teams are due to play in European competitions on Thursday.
And on the final day of the season, all 10 matches will be live simultaneously on Sky rather than just a handful of encounters.
More games have been offered not only to appease fans but also to secure an uplift in the rights value.
So the Premier League will receive £6.7bn from Sky, TNT and Match of the Day broadcaster the BBC over the four years – a 4% rise on the current rights value.
It gives financial certainty for clubs as they plan transfers or selling their businesses. Especially with an even larger windfall from overseas anticipated – with Sky News’ parent company Comcast already paying around £350m per season for US rights on NBC.
How much of the £6.7bn will flow down the leagues?
The topflight and the EFL have been negotiating a so-called “new deal” to distribute cash throughout the football pyramid.
A blueprint is in place for handouts from £88m rising to £190m by the 2028-9 season but without a settlement – as the government has been urging.
In Britain, fans will be hoping the increase in rights fees does not hit them in the pockets with a notable increase in subscription costs, even though they will be receiving more matches on televisions and tablets.
Only two subscription packages are now needed with Amazon out of the picture.
For Discovery 12:30pm Saturday games are retained along with two complete rounds of midweek matches.
Those matches will sit alongside exclusive live Champions League and Europa League coverage for the broadcaster which recently took over BT’s operations and rebranded as TNT.
And for Sky, which kickstarted the Premier League revolution in 1992 with a “whole new ball game”, a key driver of subscriptions is maintained until at least 2029.