You'd think they would show those programmes. They have a lot of downtime on that channel.
They do show things like the Match Pack, but clearly Sky don't want to show so much stuff on their channels that they don't have any control over. Not least because it would involve featuring lots of presenters, commentators, pundits and so on that are well-established on other channels.
It's different with BT who are certainly happy to use freelancers who can be seen and heard on other channels, but Sky have never been that way inclined.
Competing Premier League matches on different channels won't happen - it would split the TV audience too much and would face a backlash from venues with only one Sky box. I do think there needs to be competition in the commercial sector for Sky Sports - currently there is no (legal) way apart from through a dish to get live subscription sport on in a commercial venue. Some already have forgone adding BT Sport to their packages because of the square-footage-based subscription costs that can mount very quickly.
3pm on a Saturday is currently filled by live rugby on both BT and Sky (Premiership / Pro14 / internationals). Also S4C show their Pro14 match on a Saturday at 19:35 after all the football has finished. Plus Sky have other football to show at late night eg from Spain.
Virgin Media are allowed distribute Sky Sports to commercial premises in Ireland - didn’t realise it wasn’t the same in the U.K. (That being said if you want both Sky Sports and BT it has to be satellite).
Have heard today in passing that limited midweek double headers were being discussed, it wasn't until the grim UK transport system in the evenings seemed to clobber that on the head. Proposed KOs were apparently 6.30pm and 8.30pm.
Telegraph reporting that 200 of the 380 games will be broadcast, including 4 entire rounds of games played midweek or on bank holidays. Sunday kick-offs move to 2pm and 4.30pm, whilst there are 8 fixtures at 7.45pm on Saturdays.
Package A: 32 matches - Saturday 12.30pm
Package B: 32 matches - Saturday 5.30pm
Package C: 24 matches - Sunday 2pm. 8 matches - Saturday 7.45pm
Package D: 32 matches - Sunday 4.30pm
Package E: 24 matches - Monday 8pm or Friday 7.30-8pm. 8 matches - Sunday 2pm
Package F: All 20 matches - from one Bank Holiday and one midweek fixture programme
Package G: All 20 matches - from two midweek fixture programmes
Quite surprised really they've not made all the final days matches available too. Assume the Bank Holiday is either Boxing Day or New Years Day, which in this deal will be Thu/Wed, Sat/Fri and Sun/Sat.
And definately no pretence this time of a smaller package FTA broadcasters could bid for. Will be interesting to see if anyone new enters the arena this time but pretty easy to see the status quo pretty much remaining with Sky getting A,C,D and E and BT getting B and tying up F & G - think at the moment the entire round of games seems to fit their model more than Skys.
A few obs, if that is indeed what the tender will look like....
1. Super Sunday moves to 2pm and 4:30pm. Not sure why they’d be planning on doing that unless more Sunday noon games would be on the cards (but seemingly not based on the above???)
2. Despite FNF, in its first season at least having widely been regarded as a failure, they are keeping it (and allowing more games in the slot???). Presumably solely in the name of satisfying the undertaking to increase the number of televised games.
3. Saturday night football - an interesting one. Only tentative steps being taken into the slot though, a bit like FNF in the current package.
4. The midweek rounds - well this is the bigger joker in the pack, if you will. All games on the same night go to one broadcasters. Presumably what will in reality happen is a Champions League style setup, with one or two “featured” front channel games and the rest on the red button. (And a Goals Show???).
5. The one bank holiday round will be even more interesting, if a one off annual event. Might it show what U.K. coverage might look like if all the weekend games were televised? Probably not, since they’ll all be on one day, not over a weekend, but you could have a 12:30pm, 5:30pm, and 8:00pm game, along with a “featured” 3pm and the others at 3pm on the red button.
Have heard today in passing that limited midweek double headers were being discussed, it wasn't until the grim UK transport system in the evenings seemed to clobber that on the head. Proposed KOs were apparently 6.30pm and 8.30pm.
Blimey - 6.30pm kick-offs wouldn't work, especially in London and other big cities. Germany does it, though. If I remember rightly, when there are midweek matches - an
Englische woche
(!) - Bundesliga.2 matches kick-off at 5.30, with Bundesliga following at 7.45. Think all their matches are televised simultaneously.
FWIW if Sky can't make a success of Friday night football, Saturday night won't fare very well either, but I do wonder if the Premier League is looking to the North American market with this deal - an east coast Saturday 3pm kick-off might have some appeal there.
Think FNF is more about offering flexibility rather than the slot - Champions League teams often can't do the Monday so moving the slot to Friday occassionally offers the chance for higher profile games in the pick.
Not sure if the 3pm blackout rule applies to Bank Holidays but there are no 3pm broadcast PL games on Boxing Day or New Years Day - just lunchtime and early evening, with 2 or 3 then carried over to subsequent nights. So potential for 4-5 broadcast slots - what would be interesting is whether they go for two games in each slot or have one slot with the majority of games and the rest broadcast unrivaled.
FWIW if Sky can't make a success of Friday night football, Saturday night won't fare very well either, but I do wonder if the Premier League is looking to the North American market with this deal - an east coast Saturday 3pm kick-off might have some appeal there.
That'll probably be the next step when police refuse matches on Saturday nights - the PL have been wanting games played in other countries for years.
Not sure if the 3pm blackout rule applies to Bank Holidays but there are no 3pm broadcast PL games on Boxing Day or New Years Day - just lunchtime and early evening, with 2 or 3 then carried over to subsequent nights. So potential for 4-5 broadcast slots - what would be interesting is whether they go for two games in each slot or have one slot with the majority of games and the rest broadcast unrivaled.
It doesn't apply on bank holidays - Sky are showing Championship matches at 3pm on Boxing Day and New Year's Day this year.
So it's 164 Fixture Slots with 4 of them offering 10 games each, the remainder 1, unless the live 'foxture programme has staggered ko's. No real change from now then. BT really must get at least two of the A-E packs to be seen to be making any progress whatsoever. A reduction in slots to 32+4 will be seen as a failure and retreat for them.