Premier League urges clubs to allow dressing-room filming and in-game interviews
The Premier League has asked clubs to give broadcasters the right to film inside dressing rooms or conduct in-game player interviews during live coverage from next season. A new domestic TV deal worth £6.7bn over four years begins in August and Sky Sports and TNT Sports want more for their money, with the league supporting their demands.
The league is understood to be consulting with clubs over enhanced access for rights holders and wants an agreement before its AGM next month. Some clubs are more open to allowing broadcasters to film in their dressing rooms, with certain managers resistant to letting cameras into what they regard as their inner sanctum.
The traditional Big Six are believed to be pushing back. There is a suspicion at some clubs that the Big Six are resisting because they want to save behind-the-scenes content for their own channels, which they can use to market to their fans and increase their already significant commercial advantage. The league needs 14 clubs to take its side if it is to make a contractual commitment to the broadcasters.
Under the league's proposals each club would be obliged to allow dressing-room access, a half-time player interview or an interview with a substituted player at two home games. The broadcasters are most interested in dressing-room footage but the other options have been included as a concession to win over the most reluctant clubs.
The league is understood to have warned clubs that without offering broadcasters more access the value of future TV rights deals is likely to decline. Although the value of the league's TV deal has gone up for the next cycle, this has been achieved only by offering 70 more live games each season. The price per game paid by Sky and TNT has decreased significantly from £10.19m between 2016-17 and 2018-19 to £6.2m over the next four-year cycle.
Overseas TV rights are continuing to rise, with the league's contracts between 2025 and 2028 worth £6.5bn, but foreign rights holders are also demanding more, particularly NBC in the United States.
Several clubs including Brentford, Brighton, Wolves and Nottingham Forest have run trials with cameras in their dressing rooms over the past couple of years. The Premier League champions are obliged to allow crews to film celebrations in their dressing rooms after winning the trophy.
Bournemouth were the first club to offer a substituted player interview, with Marcus Tavernier speaking to Sky Sports after he was taken off in their 3-1 win over Southampton last October, and an audio clip of Thomas Frank giving a pre-match team talk before Brentford hosted Arsenal in January went viral after being posted by TNT Sports.
Sky Sports will broadcast a minimum of 215 live Premier League games next season, up from 128, and believes it has to offer viewers more for their subscription. Next season in the Premier League camera crews will be allowed on to the pitch to film goal celebrations. Camera operatives using so-called Steadicams, who often enter the field at the final whistle, will be allowed to record players' reactions to take viewers closer to the action.
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