A brand new Premier League season kicked-off this past weekend, but Sky Sports will be hoping to perform just as much as clubs under new pressures.
During an August 2025 launch event ahead of the new Premier League season, Sky invited Insider Sport to its London Studios to unveil plans to boost live coverage from 128 to 215 games in a bid to engage viewers more than ever.
Sky Sports Presenter Dave Jones labelled the forthcoming season the “most ambitious and extensive coverage” yet for the broadcaster and rightly so, as it looks to remain one of the leading traditional TV sports broadcasters in the current age of streaming disruptors.
Streaming Age: Sky Sports+
Sky Sports have been focusing on capturing the 35-year-old and under demographic, many of whom have migrated over to streaming services such as Netflix, Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.
These platforms have stepped up their push into live sports, which made the Premier League’s record £6.7bn broadcast rights deal all the more striking. Prime Video, a previous rights holder – was excluded, leaving Sky Sports and TNT Sports as the exclusive UK broadcasters – a surprise outcome and welcome boost for both.
At the centre of Sky’s strategy is Managing Director Jonathan Licht, who said Sky Sports now has “more rights certainty than ever before” with the Premier League secured for another four years.
Licht highlighted the performance of Sky Sports+ as he revealed 75% of all customers used the streaming service to watch sports last season and despite being predominantly a traditional sports broadcaster, Licht noted the importance of streaming in order to attract that under-35-year-old demographic.
A “big focus” has been to grow this demographic, Licht said, adding Sky’s dual push on linear and streaming channels has doubled its under-35 viewership in the last three to four years.
The same trend is visible on digital platforms: Sky Sports’ Premier League YouTube channel now attracts 35 million monthly viewers.
Licht marvelled at the 34-year relationship between Sky Sports and the Premier League and believes the first year of the new four year broadcast deal is “certifying our position as the home of domestic football”.
Watch below a recap of the Sky Sports Premier League launch event
“Conversations are coming” on 3pm blackout
When Licht opened up for questions inside the Monday Night Football studio, one of the first points raised was piracy, and whether its rise could destroy the industry.
He admitted it was a “real concern” and has been “normalised” to the point where it has put industry stakeholders and rights holders at risk of losing significant amounts of revenue.
DAZN’s collapse of its Ligue 1 domestic broadcast deal, scrapped just one year into a four-year agreement, is just one recent cautionary example.
Licht highlighted the situation that transpired between Ligue 1 and DAZN and called for more action from Big Tech companies to do more in a bid to stamp out piracy and protect the sports broadcasting industry.
The Sky Sports Managing Director also was quizzed on the topic of 3pm fixtures and if a removal of the blackout rule could in turn help steer viewers away from piracy. The decades-old regulation prevents live coverage of Saturday 3pm matches in order to protect ticket sales, especially for smaller clubs.
However, in the new age of digital fandom, the rule is under increasing pressure. Even members of the British Royal Family – Prince William who is President of the FA – have labelled the rule as “irritating”, noting in April he was unable to watch his team Aston Villa play at 3pm.
Scrapping the blackout would require UEFA and FA approval to repeal Article 48.2. It could also force a renegotiation of the current four-year broadcast deal with Sky and TNT, or prompt the Premier League to explore creating its own direct-to-consumer streaming service for 3pm games, similar to the approach made by Ligue 1.
Increased focus on fan perspectives
Another area Sky Sports is doubling down on is the involvement of fan-led content, which has seen various digital and social media influencers take on analysis/punditry roles on some of its digital platforms.
Director of Football Gary Hughes announced the launch of Fanalysis, a new fan-driven platform which will allow football supporters to post player ratings, manager verdicts, and offer theory perspectives on their favourite club.
These fan insights and predictions will be integrated across Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage throughout the 2025/26 season, and will be discussed by in-studio pundits.
Over the past year, Fanalysis has been searching for 11 fans per club, known as the Starting XI, to kick off the app. They have been selected after in-person auditions for over 600 fans, with every fan also submitting written match and player reports.
“When it comes to their club, fans know best. No stats, clips on YouTube, journalist or pundit can compete with the fans who live and breathe their club and whose mood depends on whether their team wins on the weekend.” said Fanalysis Executive Chairman and Founder Michael McIntyre.
Sky Sports are now set until the 2028/29 season to continue building upon its content offerings and battling it out with emerging streaming disruptors to capture the next-generation of sports fans.
