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.
No UK broadcasters are authorised to televise 15:00 kick-offs on a Saturday afternoon as these fall within the Football Association’s “Closed Period”, under UEFA Article 48, which is primarily designed to protect match attendances (both at a professional and amateur level) and promote grass-roots participation in football.
Therefore, no commercial premises in the UK is 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 seek 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 is 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 that 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 below.
