The Premier League has announced it has agreed a landmark TV deal with domestic broadcasters to now cover more live games than ever before.
The newly agreed broadcast deal will last until the end of the 2028-29 season and sees up to 267 live games to be shown per season, with Sky Sports landing the most games with 215 after being awarded four live rights packages.
Sky will retain their Monday and/or Fright night games, as well as Sunday league games. The British sports broadcaster will also receive three midweek match rounds and for the first time, will broadcast all 10 Premier League fixtures on the final matchweek of the season.
Dana Strong, Group CEO of Sky, stated: “This is a fantastic result for Sky customers, who will see a significant increase in the number of matches from the most iconic league in the world.
“We are proud of our long history with the Premier League and look forward to delivering more engagement, entertainment, and innovation to the end of the decade. Sky is the undisputed home for sport fans in the UK.”
TNT Sports conversely, will broadcast 52 live matches per season with one live rights package, retaining their 12:30pm time slot for Saturday noon games as well as full coverage of two midweek match rounds.
Andrew Georgiou, President and MD, UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, said: “It’s hugely exciting to continue to bring fans exclusive Premier League matches for the next five seasons.
“TNT Sports has quickly established itself as a premium live sport offering and the Premier League is an important part of our line-up that includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europa League, MotoGP, boxing, NBA, UFC, Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup and much more.”
In a new addition to the broadcast deal, and for the first time, Premier League matches at 2:00pm on a Sunday – typically closed off from broadcasters due to UEFA Europa League involvement the Thursday prior – will now be televised live.
The four-year period for the new broadcast deal will kick in at the start of the 2025-26 season, which has been hailed as the “largest sports media rights deal ever concluded in the UK”.
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, commented on the new deal: “We are delighted to announce new deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will extend our partnership for a further four years and see more Premier League matches than ever before shown live from 2025/26 onwards.
“As longstanding and valued partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are renowned for consistently delivering world-class coverage and programming. We have enjoyed record audiences and attendances in recent seasons, and we know that their continued innovation will drive more people to watch and follow the Premier League.”
The Premier League also agreed a highlights package deal with the BBC for all 380 league game highlights to be once again shown on Match of the Day.
The new deal also sees additional digital rights for BBC’s online platforms along with a “full range of additional programming”. ITV was initially interested in the highlights package but dropped out due to a lack of advertising and commercial incentives.
Masters added: “We are also extremely pleased to extend our partnership with BBC Sport, which will continue to bring weekly highlights of all Premier League matches to the widest possible audience in the UK.
“Match of the Day has been an institution for generations of football fans in this country and remains incredibly popular with fans of all ages.”
What may come as a surprise to Premier League fans is no inclusion of Amazon Prime in the latest deal, which held rights to 20 league games as part of the previous broadcast deal.
The new Premier League broadcast deal signifies the English football league’s consolidation as European football’s most lucrative sports brand.
The previous broadcast deal was worth a reported £5.2bn as the league wanted to maximise the best deal it could after the last one was renegotiated earlier due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The league also highlighted that the new £6.7bn deal will secure financial certainty for clubs throughout the rest of the decade, as well as for football communities across England and Wales, announcing it will be contributing £1.6bn to the grassroots level between 2022 and 2025.
Masters concluded: “The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League and is a testament to our clubs, players and managers who continue to deliver the world’s most competitive football in full stadiums, and to supporters, who create an unrivalled atmosphere every week.”
