A total of 200 live football matches per season have been made available through seven packages outlined in a tender document distributed by the English Premier League yesterday (Thursday) for the next cycle of domestic rights.
The total figure, which will apply to each of the three seasons from 2019-20 to 2021-22, represents an increase from the 168 games per campaign that are currently broadcast live by pay-television broadcasters Sky and BT Sport.
Earlier this year, the league assured the UK’s media regulator, Ofcom, that it would make at least half of the total of 380 games per season available to domestic audiences in the next cycle. The extra live fixtures will be available through three rounds of midweek games and one round of Bank Holiday fixtures.
The next cycle will also include entire rounds of Premier League matches being shown live for the first time, but no single buyer will be allowed to acquire more than 148 matches per season.
The seven packages of live rights contained in the tender document include, on a platform-neutral basis:
Package A – 32 matches kicking off at 12.30pm on Saturdays
Package B – 32 matches kicking off at 17.30pm on Saturdays
Package C – 24 matches kicking off at 14.00pm on Sundays, plus eight matches kicking off at 19.45pm on Saturdays
Package D – 32 matches kicking off at 16.30pm on Sundays
Package E – 24 matches kicking off at either 20.00pm on Mondays or 19.30-20.00pm on Fridays, plus eight matches kicking off at 14.00pm on Sundays
Package F – All 20 matches from one Bank Holiday and one midweek fixture programme
Package G – All 20 matches from two midweek fixture programmes
The league has also offered a free-to-air highlights package.
The league added that it intends at a later date to conduct a separate sales process for a single near-live package encompassing long-form rights to 180 non-live matches per season, for linear and on-demand exploitation, and internet clip rights to all 380 matches per season.