About: Broadcast

Broadcast

Domestic broadcasting
International broadcasting
Research/viewing statistics
Illegal broadcasting

Overview of sales process

Live audio-visual broadcast rights are sold in three-season packages through a heavily regulated auction process.

The rights are sold on a collective basis, rather than individually by each Club.

Domestic broadcast partners

For the three seasons 2019/20–2021/22, 200 live matches per season were split into seven packages (labelled A-G) of either 20 or 32 matches.

Each represented a specific time-slot in which matches can be broadcast. No single broadcaster was permitted to purchase all seven.

Premier League clubs agreed in May 2021 to a proposal to conclude a three-year renewal of these UK live and non-live broadcast agreements with Sky Sports, BT Sport, Amazon Prime Video and BBC Sport for the next broadcast cycle, from seasons 2022/2023 to 2024/2025. 

Live packages for UK rights holders 2019/20-21/22

Package A - BT Sport

Total matches: 32 (20 second picks + 12 fifth picks).

Matches per club: maximum six; minimum one.

Kick-off times: 32 matches at Saturday 12:30

Package B - Sky Sports

Total matches: 32 (15 first picks + five third picks + 12 fifth picks)

Matches per club: maximum six; minimum one

Kick-off times: 32 matches at Saturday 17:30

Package C - Sky Sports

Total matches: 32 (14 second picks + 18 fourth picks)

Matches per club: maximum five; minimum one

Kick-off times: 24 matches at Sunday 14:00 and eight matches at Saturday 19:45 

Package D - Sky Sports

Total matches: 32 (19 first picks + seven third picks + six fourth picks)

Matches per club: maximum five; minimum one

Kick-off times: 32 matches at Sunday 16:30 

Package E - Sky Sports

Total matches: 32 (22 third picks + 10 fourth picks)

Matches per club: maximum five; minimum none

Kick-off times: 24 matches at Monday 20:00 or Friday 19:30-20:00 and eight matches at Sunday 14:00

Package F - Amazon Prime Video

Total matches: 20

Matches per club: maximum two; minimum two

Kick-off times: All 20 matches from one Bank Holiday and one midweek fixture programme

Package G - BT Sport

Total matches: 20

Matches per club: maximum two; minimum two

Kick-off times: All 20 matches from two midweek fixture programmes

UK rights for behind-closed-doors matches in 2019/20

After the 2019/20 season was temporarily suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 92 remaining fixtures played behind closed doors were all allocated live TV slots in the UK under Project Restart in order for fans in the UK to watch live. Sky agreed to show 64 live matches, BT Sport 20, Amazon four and the BBC, for the first time, four. 

UK live rights for 2020/21 

The Premier League agreed with its UK broadcast partners to increase the number of matches shown live from 200 to 220 for the 2020/21 season only.  Of the additional live fixtures, 12 will be shown on Sky Sports, six on BT Sport and two on Amazon Prime Video.  

For the 2020/21 season, while fans remained unable to attend matches this sharing of live rights among Sky, BT, Amazon and the BBC continued.

UK highlights

The audiovisual highlights package for all 380 Premier League matches per season from 2019/20 to 2021/22 were awarded to BBC Sport, with a bid of £211.5million after an open and competitive process. 

International broadcast partners 

The Premier League concluded deals for live audiovisual rights for the three seasons 2019/20-2021/22 in the countries and territories below. 

*for 2020/21 season only

Research/viewing stats

The Premier League was shown in a total of 188 of the world's 193 countries recognised by the United Nations during the 2019/20 season. Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, North Korea, the Philippines and Cuba were the five countries without coverage.

The cumulative audiences for live Premier League programming during the season was 1.5billion, a 14 per cent rise on the 2018/19 campaign, with a cumulative global audience of 3.2billion for all programming watched (this includes only standard in-home viewing and excludes out-of-home and mobile-device viewing).

There were more than 274,000 hours of Premier League coverage broadcast around the world in 2019/20, reaching 878million homes for all broadcast types.

Illegal broadcasting

The only legitimate way that pubs, clubs and other commercial premises in the United Kingdom may broadcast Premier League matches is through a commercial subscription to one or all of the Premier League’s authorised UK broadcasters, Sky, BT and Amazon.

The Football Association’s “Closed Period”, under UEFA Article 48, means no UK broadcaster is authorised to televise 15:00 kick-offs on a Saturday afternoon. The “Closed Period” is primarily designed to protect match attendances (both at a professional and amateur level) and promote grassroots participation in football.

Therefore, no commercial premises in the UK are authorised to show Premier League matches kicking off on a Saturday at 15:00.

The Premier League is aware that a number of commercial premises have sought to use unauthorised foreign viewing systems and illegal websites to avoid paying for legitimate commercial subscriptions and/or to show matches kicking-off during the Closed Period.

Any commercial premises undertaking this kind of activity are infringing the Premier League’s copyright. We take a strong and active approach towards the enforcement of our copyright and continue to pursue criminal and civil court actions, both against the commercial premises that are breaching our copyright and against those who supply unauthorised viewing systems to facilitate such breaches.

We appreciate members of the public contacting us to assist in our efforts in this area. 

If you know a business is showing Premier League matches via a foreign satellite system or through an unauthorised website, or if someone has tried to sell you a foreign satellite system, you can report this directly to ID Inquiries.

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