Televising of every Premier League game expected to continue amid ongoing crowd absence
Premier League supporters and broadcast partners are expecting the televising of every game to continue after plans for the return of crowds were scrapped.
Clubs were due to meet in the coming days to vote on whether to allow all matches to be shown next month and potentially beyond having reversed their decision to block fans watching 160 of them this season by making each of this month’s available.
Sources at broadcasters told Telegraph Sport they expected the same arrangement to apply under which they have been awarded additional matches at no extra cost since the world’s richest league resumed following the coronavirus crisis.
That would see the BBC awarded at least one more game, and potentially several more if matches continued behind closed doors for up to another six months.
Broadcasters were not expecting clubs to set up some kind of rival streaming service to show matches that had not already been allocated to Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon.
The Football Supporters’ Association, which led a campaign to get all games shown live on TV while fans remained locked out of grounds, made it clear the current arrangement should continue.
“The Government’s announcement of a ‘pause’ on fans returning to games highlights the necessity for all leagues to ensure that fans can watch their team, even if stadiums are closed,” it said.
“We welcomed the Premier League’s decision to broadcast September’s fixtures and want that to continue while games are played behind-closed-doors or in front of reduced crowds.”
Showing all games live could mean rearranging fixtures so they do not clash with those Sky, BT and Amazon are planning to show.
Telegraph Sport has been told clubs are concerned about the potential financial impact of that when it comes to their overseas rights deals in the Far East and the Americas.
