Premier League Seals $8.4 Billion UK Rights Deal With Sky Sports, TNT Sports and BBC Sport

Premier League seals £6.7 billion UK rights deal with Sky Sports, TNT Sports and BBC Sport By George Bevir

Tuesday, December 5, 2023 - 08:48

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The Premier League has agreed live UK rights deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will see up to 270 games shown per season.

The deal, which covers a four-year period starting with the 2025-26 season, means that for the first time in the UK all matches taking place outside of the Saturday 3pm blackout will be broadcast live.

Sky Sports has been awarded live rights packages B, C, D and E, covering a minimum of 215 live matches per season, which will include more than 140 matches played at weekends, evening matches on Fridays and Mondays, and full coverage of three midweek match rounds. For the first time, Sky Sports will also broadcast all 10 matches on the final day of each season.

For Sky, that all means up to 100 more matches each season, with its live coverage set to increase by 70% from 2025/26.

TNT Sports has been awarded live rights package A, covering 52 live matches per season, including exclusive coverage of matches played on Saturdays at 12.30pm and full coverage of two midweek match rounds.

The agreement will see a continuation of the BBC's Match of the Day highlights programme, with BBC Sport awarded highlights rights for all 380 Premier League matches each season, plus additional digital rights for the BBC's online platforms which the broadcaster described as a significant increase in the amount of digital content that can be used across BBC Sport platforms .

Amazon, which shows two rounds of fixtures in December, has not secured any rights beyond its current deal.

Largest UK rights deal'

The Premier League said the agreements will deliver a total of £6.7billion in revenue across the four-year period, inclusive of a 4% increase in live rights value compared to the previous domestic rights process.

Described by the Premier League as the largest sports media rights deals ever concluded in the UK , Richard Masters, Premier League chief executive, said: 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.

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.

The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League and is 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.

Sky chief executive Dana Strong said: 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. Our customers have more of the sports they love and more long-term certainty than ever before, with an unrivalled volume of domestic football, alongside Formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby league, tennis and much more.

WBD Sports Europe president and managing director for UK & Ireland Andrew Georgiou added: 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.

And BBC Sport director Barbara Slater added: Match Of The Day remains enduringly popular with audiences and this new agreement with the Premier League is brilliant news for football fans all over the UK.

For almost 60 years it has been the UK's most discussed football programme, delivering a complete digest of the weekend's action and this enhanced deal with more digital content means we can tell the story of the Premier League every day across BBC Sport platforms.

The UK Premier League live packages

Package A - TNT Sports

Total matches: 52 (18 second picks; 14 fourth picks; all 20 matches as part of 4th and 5th midweek rounds)

Matches per club: maximum six; minimum one

Primary kick-off time: 32 matches at Saturday 12.30

Package B - Sky Sports

Total matches: 50 (14 first picks; 18 fifth picks; approximately 6-10 rescheduled matches but not at Sunday 14.00; all 10 matches as part of 3rd midweek round)

Matches per club: maximum six; minimum one

Primary kick-off time: 32 matches at Saturday 17.30

Package C - Sky Sports

Total matches: 66 (14 second picks; 18 fourth picks; 30-38 rescheduled matches at Sunday 14.00)

Matches per club: maximum five; minimum one

Primary kick-off time: 32 matches at Sunday 14.00

Package D - Sky Sports

Total matches: 44 (18 first picks; 13 third picks; up to two Round 37; all 10 Final Round)

Matches per club: maximum five; minimum one

Kick-off times: 32 matches at Sunday 16.30

Package E - Sky Sports

Total matches: 58 (18 third picks; 14 fifth picks

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