Premier League set to axe PPV games
November 6, 2020
By Nik Roseveare
The Premier League is set to scrap all pay-per-view matches after November’s international window.
Football clubs will instead collectively look to devise a new solution that will cover the second lockdown period and the busy Christmas schedule.
Although discussions are said to be ongoing, the controversial £14.95 fee for games not picked for TV are expected to be dropped. PPV is not completely off the table though, with one option being a reduced fee. Last month, Mike Ashley, owner of Newcastle United, suggested £4.95 would be a fairer price, whilst Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was adamant the scheme should be binned altogether.
Reports suggest another option is to return to the model used during Project Restart and in September, when all games were shown live by the Premier League’s broadcast partners – opening the door for the BBC and Amazon to once again show matches, although the majority would be on Sky Sports and BT Sport.
More than £300,000 has been raised for charity by fans boycotting PPV games, which were introduced in October after clubs voted 19-1 in favour of the “interim solution”. Leicester City were said to be the one club who voted against the move. Figures for the first nine PPV matches show that an average of 40,000 viewers had paid, with some matches drawing far smaller numbers.
Games not selected for television broadcast will remain as PPV events over this weekend, and then whatever decision is made will come into effect from November 21st.