The Premier League and English Football League (EFL) are set to hold talks early next year about ending the longstanding Saturday 3pm blackout, which would allow live broadcasts of all matches for the first time. The UK is the last country in Europe to enforce this restriction, and both leagues are keen to sell all games to domestic broadcasters in the next rights cycle to boost revenue.
Currently, the Premier League and EFL show a record 270 and 1,059 matches respectively on domestic TV this season, primarily on Sky Sports. However, they have concluded that selling every game is the only way to increase income. Their contracts run until the end of the 2028-29 season, but the EFL plans to go to market in early 2027 and needs clarity on what it can offer. The Premier League auction is expected later that year.
The EFL's current deal with Sky Sports is worth £935 million over five years, covering 1,059 games from the Championship, League One, League Two, the Carabao Cup, and EFL Trophy. If the blackout is removed, the EFL could make all 1,891 of its matches available, pending agreement with the Premier League and the Football Association (FA).
The Premier League is also exploring selling every game due to declining media rights values across Europe. Its domestic deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports is worth a record £6.7 billion over four years, but the real-terms value has dropped by 23% from the previous cycle after adding an extra year and increasing games from 215 to 270 per season. Many Premier League clubs' American owners have pushed for broadcasting every game, as is standard in US sports.
The blackout stems from Article 48 of Uefa's statutes, which prohibits live football broadcasts for two and a half hours on Saturdays or Sundays. In England, it applies when 50% of Premier League and Championship matches are scheduled for Saturday at 3pm. The FA, responsible for applying Article 48, is unlikely to object to its removal, having previously discussed exempting the Women's Super League. However, if lifted, the Premier League and EFL may face compensation demands from leagues in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, and broadcasting 3pm kick-offs could impact lower-league attendances.
