The UK is the last country in Europe to comply with UEFA’s Article 48, which bans two and a half hours of live broadcast time on Saturday afternoon.
Football associations in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are adhering to a rule that effectively imposes a blackout between 2.45pm and 5.15pm.
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Certain Saturdays throughout the season are exempt from UEFA Article 48. This includes certain dates over the Christmas period and the International Break weekend.
The ban has been part of the British football system since the 1960s, but the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) are considering allowing live weekly Saturday kick-offs.
This season, the number of domestic TV broadcasts of different competitions under their respective jurisdictions reached a record 1,329.
However, the Premier League and EFL reportedly believe that selling every game is the only viable way for them to generate more revenue.
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Premier League keen to keep gravy train rolling
The Premier League is keen to protect its status as the world’s most popular domestic competition as the value of media rights in Europe falls.
The current deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports is worth a record £6.7bn over four years, although its actual valuation has actually declined this season.
The Premier League has increased the number of games from 215 to 270 and added an additional year to the contract, which equates to a 23% reduction in value compared to the previous cycle.
The rise of American owners in England’s top flight has prompted a push to scrap the Saturday afternoon blackout.
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The North American sports community is free to broadcast live matches, a model many Premier League owners now hope to emulate.
EFL bid lays foundation for better deal
The EFL’s current domestic broadcast contract expires at the end of the 2028/29 season, but they plan to bring the next cycle of programs to market in 2027.
With the Premier League auction expected to take place later in the year, the EFL will need to work towards being in a strong position to maximize the broadcast revenue it generates.
The EFL currently has a five-year contract with Sky Sports worth £935m. This gives the broadcaster exclusive live rights to 1,059 games per season.
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However, if the blackout is lifted, this number could increase to 1,891 games across the Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy.
The English Football Association, which is responsible for enforcing Article 48, is unlikely to object to lifting the blackout.
Blackout: A good idea or draconian nonsense?
The initial aim of the blackout was to avoid a negative impact on league attendance – a noble idea but not supported by evidence.
Burnley chairman Bob Lord has strongly opposed the idea of ​​the game being televised on Saturday afternoon. In the 1960s he even banned match-day cameras at Turf Moor.
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To be fair, however, Lord was not known as a “forward thinker” and his positions were certainly at odds with real-world developments.
A 2011 European Court of Justice case involving the Premier League questioned whether broadcast blackouts would adversely affect attendances.
Attorney-General Juliane Cockett said: “The reality is that it is questionable whether attendance and participation in games will be encouraged during lockdown.
“Both events are of a completely different quality than live television.
“It has not been fully demonstrated to the court that the ban actually encouraged viewing and participation in the game.
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“Indeed, there is evidence to refute this claim. For example, when conducting an investigation into blackout periods under competition law, the Commission found that only 10 out of 22 associations actually adopted blackout periods.
“No blackout periods were introduced in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, or Northern Ireland, that is, in English football.
“Furthermore, today in Germany all Bundesliga matches are obviously live, while viewers in the top two leagues are not affected.”
Supporters of the blackout believe Kokot’s comments were misguided as they were mainly concerned with the impact on football’s elite level.
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However, while it may be tempting to stay home and watch live matches on a wintery day in January, fans of lower-tier clubs tend to be a loyal bunch.
Although the Premier League has now become a global behemoth, watching football at second tier and below remains an experience driven by a sense of community.
These levels of fans follow their teams religiously, and abandoning them to watch a club they have no emotional attachment to is unlikely to be appealing.
Rule 48 is a well-established rule. In an era when fans already have plenty of other activities they can choose to participate in, this is no longer appropriate.
