Premier League: Games not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans on a pay-per-view basis

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Callum Wilson goes to kiss a TV camera
Football has been played behind closed doors since the coronavirus lockdown

Premier League games not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans on a pay-per-view basis.

The five fixtures per round not already picked to be shown live, will be available on BT Sport Box Office or Sky Sports Box Office, priced at £14.95.

Clubs have agreed this "interim solution" to allow fans to continue watching their team live.

The Premier League said it and its clubs "remain committed to the safe return of fans as soon as possible".

Fans have been unable to attend Premier League games since football was halted on 13 March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The top flight resumed on Wednesday, 17 June with the remaining 92 games of last season being played behind closed doors and the opening games of this season have followed suit.

The Premier League and UK government had hoped to bring fans back into stadiums from 1 October but those plans were scrapped following an increase in coronavirus cases.

BT Sport said fans without a subscription would still be able to access their Box Office service.

"With supporters still unable to return to stadiums, we want to help fans watch the games they would usually attend and clubs generate critical revenue," the broadcaster said.

But former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville, now a television pundit, said on social media it was a "really bad move" by the Premier League.

In a statement, the Football Supporters' Association urged broadcasters to "reconsider their pricing".

"Today's announcement shows that fan power works," the FSA said. "At the start of this season the Premier League and its broadcasters had planned to leave match-going fans entirely locked out of their side's matches; now thanks to the sustained pressure of our #LetUsWatch campaign all games will be available for fans.

"Many Premier League clubs have already taken money from fans for matches they can't attend, so we urge them to get refunds out to those supporters as soon as possible, particularly season ticket holders.

"We've already heard from many supporters and FSA members who are concerned about the £15 per game being charged and we'd urge BT Sport and Sky Sports to reconsider their pricing for these games."

Alex Hurst, the chair of Newcastle United's Supporters Trust saidexternal-link: "The idea that Premier League clubs NEED to implement PPV because of economic needs would carry more weight if they hadn't just spent £1bn on players, furloughed staff, received government loans, weren't charging fans for games they aren't going to and hadn't just made thousands of staff redundant."

'The Premier League's move has raised eyebrows within government' - analysis

BBC sports editor Dan Roan

Ever since last season resumed, all Premier League matches have been available to watch live via the top-flight's broadcast partners. This was partly to help the government encourage fans to stay at home while games stayed behind closed doors, rather than congregating outside grounds or in pubs.

But having had their hopes of a partial return of fans inside grounds from 1 October dashed, despite the success of pilot events, the clubs have had enough of generating nothing from these matches.

Their annoyance at being told turnstiles must remain shut when pressure is also building on them to come up with a bail-out for the EFL, is likely to have hardened their stance.

But after clubs spent more than £1bn in the summer transfer window, and at a time when many supporters will be struggling financially, there will be anger about having to pay £15 for matches fans had grown used to watching for no extra cost, on top of their subscriptions for Sky and BT. Those who have also bought season tickets will be particularly infuriated.

I understand the Premier League's move has raised eyebrows within government, and clubs will now come under renewed pressure to refund season ticket holders, and perhaps reduce the pay-per-view cost going forward.

October fixtures (all times subject to change)

Saturday 17 October

Everton v Liverpool - BT Sport (12:30 BST)

Chelsea v Southampton - PPV (15:00 BST)

Leicester City v Aston Villa - PPV (15:00 BST)

Newcastle v Manchester United - PPV (15:00 BST)

Sheffield United v Fulham - PPV (15:00 BST)

West Brom v Burnley - PPV (15:00 BST)

Manchester City v Arsenal - Sky Sports (17:30 BST)

Sunday 18 October

Crystal Palace v Brighton - Sky Sports (14:00 BST)

Tottenham v West Ham - Sky Sports (16:30 BST)

Monday 19 October

Leeds v Wolves - Sky Sports (20:00 BST)

Saturday 24 October

West Ham v Manchester City - BT Sport (12:30 BST)

Arsenal v Leicester - PPV (15:00 BST)

Aston Villa v Leeds - PPV (15:00 BST)

Brighton v West Brom - PPV (15:00 BST)

Fulham v Crystal Palace - PPV (15:00 BST)

Liverpool v Sheffield United - PPV (15:00 BST)

Manchester United v Chelsea - Sky Sports (17:30 BST)

Sunday 25 October

Southampton v Everton - Sky Sports (14:00 GMT)

Wolves v Newcastle - Sky Sports (16:30 GMT)

Monday 26 October

Burnley v Tottenham - Sky Sports (20:00 GMT)

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395 comments

  • Don't think so. I've already paid for my season ticket and now they want more? Ain't gonna happen. Money is all they think about

    • Mr and Mrs Banks replied:
      If you’re a season ticket holder, they should send you a code or something so you can watch it for free. Totally agree with you.

  • Pop down your non league clubs. They'll appreciate that 15 quid much more. Game of footy and a pie aswell. Boycott tv companies

    • KRR replied:
      You're absolutely right, but at the moment we can't, can we? (And by cracky, £15? My non-league Scottish team is £6 at the gate.

  • Oh well, you could have sold it to me for a fiver, but I will just steal it now.

    • PsychLove replied:
      I feel nauseous at 14.95 per game, what an absolute joke. Imagine paying that much to watch West Brom v Burnley and not even be at the ground.

  • As a Villa fan I've been played like a right muppet. I have BT Sport, Amazon Prime and grabbed a NOW TV Sports subscription this month. Now I find out I have to pay £14.99 per Villa game this month on top of all that.

    Be right back. I'm going to get 'MUG' tattooed on my forehead (whilst socially distancing of course).

    • One Horse Town replied:
      Sky Sports would normally have had 128 games this season, BT 52, so you're not losing out, you're just not getting the bonus additional games that we've got used to seeing since football came back.

      As a Leicester fan I'm quite relieved as it means I won't have to see viller give us another kicking.

  • The final nail into the premier league's financial coffin.

    The greed is getting worse... And I did t think it could.

    • The Old Trafford Career Derailment Scheme replied:
      I definitely thought it could. There's no depths people will plunge for the sake of profit

  • If you don't like it, don't pay. Simple.

    It will encourage people to watch it illegally online.

    • ravd48 replied:
      Lots of links out there to watch for free

  • So you can get BT Sport for a fiver but if you want to watch a game of hey haven't picked it'll cost you fifteen quid?!

    • kenco replied:
      Also 50% more than a 1 day pass for all of the sky sports channels. PL just ripping fans off.

  • Another mechanism purely designed to fleece the average fan. Not something I'd spend a single penny on, but who am I to judge what other people choose to spend their money on?

    I urge people to be mindful of how the elite institutions in this sport have behaved during the pandemic.

    • PsychLove replied:
      Phenomenal comment. I would however like to encourage people to not pay these extortionate prices and instead watch for free online on any of the many free sports streaming sites.

  • Absolutely disgarceful decision, how can the Premier League justify a charge of 14.95 to watch a match in tele at a time when a lot of people are out of work or short of dispisable income.

    This is going to push more and more people to look for unofficial streams.

  • Really this was the best they could come up with. That’s 16.6p a minute to watch 90 minutes. It used to cost around 6.99 to watch a match on setanta (years ago) which would be more reasonable than this. Haven’t football fans put enough money in the pockets of sky and the premier league. Time to give something back. Shocking

  • Sky are taking the p???...Their prices recently went up, now they want more...what a joke

  • Put them on for free, or at least for an optional payment. It is not the time to squeeze money out of loyal fans.

  • Squeezing every last penny out of the punter, think I'll be sticking with the radio!

    • This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

  • Greed, pure greed. I got a now tv pass to watch the football, as all the games were being shown. That will quickly be de-activated now!

    • mchnelson replied:
      I went for this as well, knowing fans would not be allowed back, so thought all games would be shown on one system or another. I already have Amazon Prime and EE mobile phone comes with BT sport. I was using NowTV Mobile but decided if it was continuing to show all games I would buy the full screen. At least it can be cancelled after a month. Good to see no Spurs match is set as PPV this month.

  • Bloody disgusting Premier league you see a disgrace

  • £15 per game + sky + BT Sport o dear!....Amazingly, I also like to watch baseball, it costs £100 per year for an MLB subscription, that gives you every single game live and on play back; that's 2,456+ games per season or about 4p per game!

    • Rainfordian replied:
      I watch Rounders in the local park for free too

  • there's more chance of me climbing mount everest dressed as a penguin than me paying 15 quid to watch a football match on my pc. or on anything really. even if they invented a toaster that can live stream the internet, i'm still out.

  • Sky and BT have already carved up the best matches.
    Who in their right mind is going to pay £15 to watch West Brom v Burnley or Fulham v Palace!! If anything, they should be paying us!!
    Zero atmosphere with piped crowd noise. I suppose City fans might see that as improvement but not real fans of real clubs.

    • Magic_Monkey_Nuts replied:
      Fans of Burnley, West Brom, Fulham, Palace might want to watch those games, I would have thought.

  • Pure greed
    All about profit, no interest in fans

  • Premier league clubs should organise their own coverage and stream it to their own fans for a decent price.

    • El Matador replied:
      or if they could somehow give season ticket holders a unique code to stream games; not the real deal, but at least cover some of the outlay of their loyalty to the club by buying the season ticket. For those just after the match day, a small subscription wouldn't be unreasonable.

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