Sky ups Premier League rights; TNT, BBC renew deals
December 5, 2023
By Nik Roseveare
Sky has secured the broadcast rights to show a record number of Premier League fixtures in a new four-year deal. With up to 100 more matches each season, its exclusively live coverage will increase by 70 per cent from 2025/26.
With four packages awarded, the maximum for any one broadcaster, over 80 per cent of live broadcast Premier League matches will be on Sky Sports, and customers can expect at least four live games every week.
The line-up of Premier League football on Sky Sports will include:
- At least 215 live games each season
- All first pick matches, giving fans the best matches week in week out until May 2029
- Super Sunday remains the flagship kick-off slot at 4.30pm
- First and last word on a Premier League weekend with more live games on Fridays and Mondays
- For the first time, all the final games on the last day of the season will be live in one place
- And in another first, Sky Sports will now be able to offer multiple live matches on a number of weekends at Sunday 2pm
- Most of the festive season fixtures, with Boxing Day Premier League football back on Sky
Dana Strong, Group CEO, Sky said: “This is a fantastic result for Sky customers, who will see a significant increase in the number of matches from the most iconic league in the world. We are proud of our long history with the Premier League and look forward to delivering more engagement, entertainment, and innovation to the end of the decade. Sky is the undisputed home for sport fans in the UK. Our customers have more of the sports they love and more long-term certainty than ever before, with an unrivalled volume of domestic football, alongside Formula 1, cricket, golf, rugby league, tennis and much more.”
Additionally, TNT Sports has announced it will also continue to show live Premier League matches for a further four years, through to the 2028/29 season. Starting from the 2025/26 season, the continuing Premier League rights sit alongside a football offering that today includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
TNT Sports will continue to show Saturday lunchtime kick offs and two mid-week rounds per season.
Andrew Georgiou, President and MD, UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe, commented: “It’s hugely exciting to continue to bring fans exclusive Premier League matches for the next five seasons. TNT Sports has quickly established itself as a premium live sport offering and the Premier League is an important part of our line-up that includes the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Women’s Champions League, UEFA Europa League, MotoGP, boxing, NBA, UFC, Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup and much more. As the new streaming home of TNT Sports, discovery+ gives our customers access to even more live sport through Eurosport, the only place where you can get every moment of Olympic Games Paris 2024, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, cycling’s Grand Tours, including the Tour de France, alongside the full range of discovery+ entertainment, in an offering that has something for everyone.”
BBC Sport has been awarded highlights rights for all 380 Premier League matches each season, with additional digital rights for the BBC’s online platforms. The agreement will see BBC Match of the Day continue to bring Premier League action to free-to-air each week, alongside a full range of additional programming.
Prime Video will no longer stream any live Premier League football once the new rights cycle begins. Reacting to this news, Alex Tofts, broadband expert at Broadband Genie, commented: “They think it’s all over – and for Premier League football fans on Amazon Prime Video – it will be soon. At the end of next season, the streamer’s toehold in the world’s most popular league will disappear, suggesting its rise as a sporting broadcaster is not as inevitable as once thought. It is a blow for Amazon subscribers, many who will have become used to a handful of top-flight games each season, particularly around Christmas. However, this is no giant-killing, at least in the long term. The platform will still be able to show key Champions League fixtures until the end of the 2026-2027 competition, and it is steadily increasing its presence in other sports like tennis and baseball. For football viewers, the latest rights deal will make for a less fragmented market, but don’t be surprised if other streaming services come back to the negotiating table in years to come.”
The announced agreements will deliver a total of £6.7 billion in revenue across the four-year period, inclusive of a 4 per cent increase in live rights value compared to the previous process.
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to announce new deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will extend our partnership for a further four years and see more Premier League matches than ever before shown live from 2025/26 onwards. As longstanding and valued partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are renowned for consistently delivering world-class coverage and programming. We have enjoyed record audiences and attendances in recent seasons, and we know that their continued innovation will drive more people to watch and follow the Premier League.”
“We are also extremely pleased to extend our partnership with BBC Sport, which will continue to bring weekly highlights of all Premier League matches to the widest possible audience in the UK. Match of the Day has been an institution for generations of football fans in this country and remains incredibly popular with fans of all ages. The outcome of this process underlines the strength of the Premier League and is testament to our clubs, players and managers who continue to deliver the world’s most competitive football in full stadiums, and to supporters, who create an unrivalled atmosphere every week,” concluded Masters.