Why does football have Saturday 3pm TV blackout in UK?
History of the 3pm blackout
The blackout originated in the 1960s when Burnley chairman Bob Lord encouraged the EFL to oppose television coverage of 3pm Saturday matches.He wanted to protect attendances at lower league games by encouraging fans to go to matches in person rather than watch higher-profile games on TV.The policy has since been adopted by the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, EFL and SPFL.Only the FA Cup final, which traditionally kicked off at 15:00, is allowed to be broadcast during the blackout window.Uefa lifted the blackout during the Covid-hit 2019-20 season, as games were played behind closed doors in the UK.The blackout does not affect the live radio broadcast of Saturday 3pm matches.It also does not apply outside the UK, so international broadcasters hold the rights to show 3pm Premier League kick-offs on TV abroad.
Is the blackout outdated?
There has been much debate about whether it is now outdated, with Prince William among those who have criticised the ban.The Aston Villa fan - who is patron of the English Football Association - called the blackout "irritating" because it often stops him being able to watch his side when he can't get to matches."It's really annoying that we still can't watch our own team's Premier League match in this country but you can go abroad and watch any game any time," he added.Sky Sports managing director Jonathan Licht recently claimed that end of the 3pm blackout could be coming, external because of the number of fans illegally streaming Premier League games."It's fair to say that Saturday 3pm has been a point for piracy coming into this market from various places," he told The Times.
Premier League TV deal & BBC Sport highlights
The new £6.7bn Premier League deal, which begins in the 2025-26 season, means even more matches will be shown on TV.Sky and TNT will show up to 270 live games a season, while the BBC will continue to show highlights on Match of the Day.Sky was awarded four of the five packages and will show a minimum of 215 matches a season including Saturday 17:30 kick-offs, Sunday 14:00 and 16:30 kick-offs, plus evening games on Mondays and Fridays and three midweek rounds.TNT will show a minimum of 52 matches a season including all 12:30 kick-offs on Saturdays and two midweek match rounds.Sky Sports will also broadcast all 10 matches on the final day of each season.The BBC Sport website will also feature highlights of every Premier League match during the 2025-26 season.These will be available on the BBC Sport app, website and iPlayer on Saturdays and Sundays - ordinarily from 8pm.Highlights of weeknight matches will be published at 22:30.This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
What is Ask Me Anything?
Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.The team will find out everything you need to know and be able to call upon a network of contacts including our experts and pundits.We will be answering your questions from the heart of the BBC Sport newsroom, and going behind the scenes at some of the world's biggest sporting events.Our coverage will span the BBC Sport website, app, social media and YouTube accounts, plus BBC TV and radio.
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