The Premier League has revealed it has agreed a new deal with television broadcasters to show its games to viewers in the United Kingdom – with more games than ever before to be on TV.
Sky Sports and TNT Sports have clinched a deal worth £6.7bn over four years for the right to show the Premier League.
The deal was highly-anticipated, with many predicting that "the bubble would burst" on the lucrative broadcast deals that had been agreed in the past, which fuelled the spending of Premier League clubs. But such fears have been quashed with this current deal, which covers 2025 until 2029.
The Sporting News explains the deal in full, what it means for games on TV and the finances involved.
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What is the new Premier League TV broadcast deal?
Sky and TNT (previously named BT Sport), which held the bulk of the rights to show Premier League games until 2025, had their deals renewed with the league. They, along with highlights providers the BBC, will pay a combined £6.7bn to the Premier League, an amount that will be distributed among its clubs.
Sky secured four of the five packages that were on sale, meaning they'll be able to show a minimum of 215 live matches per season. TNT will broadcast 52 matches, while Match of the Day will continue to be the league's main weekly highlights programme.
The new deal – which runs from the start of the 2025/26 season until 2028/29 – means 267 matches will be televised, an increase from around 200 in the current deal.
Amazon Prime, who have broadcast matches in the current TV deal, will not have any rights to show them after the 2024/25 season.
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What does it mean for the 3pm Saturday blackout?
The traditional TV 'blackout' for games that kick off at 3 p.m. on a Saturday will remain in the UK, despite the increase in televised games.
The blackout is designed to protect all clubs who rely on in-person crowds to generate revenue and is especially important for clubs lower down the English football pyramid. The theory is that showing games on TV at 3 p.m. on a Saturday would reduce live crowds.
The increase in games in the new deal, however, is reflective of the fact that all games outside the 3 p.m. blackout will be broadcast. Many viewers had complained, for example, that many games kicking off at 2 p.m. on a Sunday were bafflingly omitted from TV broadcasts and couldn't be watched live.
Record deal, record number of matches 💰
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 4, 2023
The Premier League has agreed a £6.7bn TV deal for Sky and TNT to show 270 live games a season up to and including the 2028-29 season.
The BBC will continue to show highlights on @BBCMOTD for four more years 🙌 pic.twitter.com/hI4UK2ZdRf
How Premier League TV deal compares to rival leagues
The deal is perhaps not as financially hefty as some may have expected, although it's still the biggest ever football TV deal in history, dwarfing the finances involved in other European countries – double that of the one just secured by Serie A, for example.
It means the growth in the Premier League's revenue from domestic rights comes in at 4%, below the current rate of inflation in the UK.
Still, the deal should embolden top flight clubs in England to continue to spend big as they've done in recent years.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: "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 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."
