Daily Mail: US investors lead talks to scrap 3pm blackout

Story from Daily Mail:

There is a growing clamour among Premier League clubs, including the owners of Chelsea and Manchester United, to scrap the Saturday 3pm ‘blackout’ that prevents games in that slot being screened live domestically, according to sources with knowledge of the clubs’ thinking.

The blackout will remain in place until 2029 under the terms of the 2025-29 domestic rights sales that will imminently go out to tender. But from 2029, an increasing number of top-flight clubs, already believed to be a majority, want all 380 Premier League games to be shown live in the UK.

As things stand, that number is 200 this season, and will rise to between 250 and 270 per season in the 2025-29 cycle.

In The Money has learnt that informal discussions are taking place among club officials in favour of making the change, with the drive being led by US-based investors.

Sources close to Chelsea have revealed owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital are among those in favour of ending the blackout. They believe there are opportunities to increase broadcast revenue, and in turn the value of their clubs as assets.

The top-flight’s domestic TV deal is worth £5billion over three years after the previous contract agreed in 2018 was extended without an auction during the pandemic.

The Premier League hope for a significant increase on the annual income in the next four-year cycle. Sources close to Manchester United’s owners, the Glazer family, also believe that club’s value could increase significantly as a result of the ban being lifted.

Premier League owners are discussing a big push to make the change among themselves. The plan is to consider any fears from stakeholders in the game, while ramping up the pressure over the next couple of years in a bid to overturn the current broadcast rules.

A club source said: ‘A number of Premier League club owners have yet to formally state their position, but are already looking to push hard for all 3pm games to be broadcast.

‘This change will be assessed by the Premier League during the next rights cycle, with a view to coming in from the 2029-30 season onwards.’

The present rule is that no football matches can be broadcast live domestically in the UK on television between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday. That includes matches from abroad, such as Serie A and La Liga.

One long-standing argument for the blackout to be maintained is to protect attendances in lower leagues. Without the rule, the fear is that thousands of supporters may decide to watch a Premier League game on TV instead of paying for a ticket to watch their local team.

The blackout rules dates back to the Sixties when Bob Lord, then the chairman of Burnley, convinced Football League clubs that 3pm Saturday games must never be televised. However, club sources have also pointed out that hundreds of thousands of would-be match going fans can’t get tickets to watch their Premier League clubs and as a result have no legal way to watch their teams on a Saturday afternoon.

The Premier League are stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, the League are continue to track down and prosecute non-rights holders who facilitate the broadcasting of their games, not least at 3pm on Saturdays. On the other hand, there are huge swathes of supporters who can’t get tickets for sold-out matches, yet can’t watch on TV either.

Broadcasters with PL rights outside the UK have their right to show all 380 PL games per season, including those at 3pm Saturday, UK time.

The Premier League and EFL both declined to comment, although sources said that 2029 was still a long way off and no decisions will be take for some time. Sources in both organisations also acknowledged they know of some clubs’ appetite to scrap the blackout.

The Football Supporters’ Association didn’t want to comment in detail but pointed towards a recent FSA survey of 10,000 fans in Britain, in which 59 per cent said they supported the retention of the 3pm Saturday blackout to protect lower league clubs.

Luton and Sheffield United have lost millions in sponsorship revenues after turning down lucrative offers from crypto and gambling companies.

The clubs were offered lucrative deals but took a moral stand after concerns were voiced that the offers were not from family friendly companies. It is understood the promoted clubs have lost a combined £6million by standing true to their values. Luton Town chief executive Gary Sweet is a long-time critic of gambling companies.

A source close to Luton said: ‘The board were uncomfortable signing deals with the likes of crypto and online gambling companies even for more money. There are problems with children getting into crypto, gambling and vaping.’