Premier League considering plan to ditch Sky Sports and BT Sport in TV rights overhaul

The Premier League are reportedly considering ditching Sky Sports and BT Sport and instead showing games on their own platform.

Premier League broadcasting rights have been a hot topic for years now, due to both the amount of money pouring into the league and the ever-growing costs for supporters.

In 2021 the Premier League renewed its broadcast deal with the likes of Sky, BT and Amazon until 2025, with the arrangement worth a whopping £5.1 billion.

Having multiple different broadcasters televise matches is not good for fans though, as viewers have to fork out for multiple subscriptions.

This season, supporters wishing to watch as many of their team's matches as possible have had to part with around £100 a month, an even then they can't watch every match due to the Saturday 3pm blackout.

However, according to a report in The Mirror, change could be on the horizon.

The report says that the Premier League is considering ditching its broadcast partners in favour of streaming matches on its own in-house platform.

It's believed that there will likely only be one more multi-partner broadcast deal before the change, with the league viewing the switch as beneficial to its interests.

Keeping things in-house rather than farming rights out to multiple different broadcasters is described as giving the Premier League a 'licence to print money and make their clubs even richer'.

The move would give the league more power over when they can show games as well as control over the revenues they receive from broadcasts.

Clubs themselves could benefit from the move, as funds could be diverted to them rather than to broadcasters.

General view of a television camera before the Premier League match. (Alamy)

Supporters could benefit as well. If matches are shown on one streaming service under one subscription, then it would surely cost less than the current multi-broadcaster arrangement.

However, things could get worse before they get better - DAZN, who already fork out £747m for the rights to show Serie A, are reportedly set to rival Sky, Amazon and BT to gain the rights to show the Premier League.

Without TV slots to fill, the Premier League would be free to schedule games at less antisocial times, and there are reports that the Saturday 3pm could one day be scrapped.

According to Football Supporters Association chief executive Kevin Miles, the cost of living crisis is making it hard for fans to watch their teams on TV.

"There's no question that supporters are increasingly feeling the financial strain," Miles said.

"We're not untouched by the general cost of living crisis but the more platforms there are, the more subscriptions we have to find.

"For those fans who want to watch everyone of the club's televised games the costs are really starting to mount."