Potential Premier League Format For Fixtures Set To Deliver 'TV Bonanza' For Football Fans

The Premier League could provide fans with a 'TV bonanza' on the weekends under potential new plans for how fixtures will be shown, according to reports.

England's top-flight league has been suspended since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But Premier League chiefs are keen to seen the current season finished in its entirety as the Premier League is set to make its return next month.

According to The Daily Mirror, five back-to-back fixtures could be shown every Saturday and every Sunday going forward.

Premier League kick-offs would begin from 12pm and following fixtures would be shown from 2pm, 4pm, 6pm and 8pm.

The potential plans would see the majority of the remaining 92 matches be shown over the weekends in the hopes of finishing the league season in August.

However, The Mirror reports that broadcasters are keen for other fixtures to be shown under a 'Champions League-style double-header format.'

Adopting the format would mean that kick-offs could potentially happen at 6pm and 8pm during the midweek.

Further talks over the fixture list are expected to take place on Thursday at the Premier League meeting, according to reports.

Clubs are also expected to discuss the plans for TV schedules as they hope to spread out the flow of matches and avoid players picking up injuries due to congested fixtures.

The Mirror claims that Premier League sides are willing to work with broadcasters' demands as they could face heavy financial strains if the season isn't completed.

The Premier League has a "strategy for rebate minimisation" and will follow it through at Thursday's meeting to keep the likes of Sky, BT Sport and Amazon happy going forward.

Government officials have previously pushed for the idea of Premier League matches to be shown for free on TV.

But The Mirror claims that the idea of BBC running live matches would 'unlikely go down well with Sky and BT.'

BT and Sky hold the rights to show 47 matches live, while the remaining 45 would be shared amongst the different broadcasters.

According to The Mirror, Sky would receive access to 32 matches, eight for BT and five for Amazon and BBC.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Premier League

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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