Forever looking at ways to increase the Premier League’s popularity at home and abroad, league bigwigs and chairmen from all 20 current Premier League sides are understood to have sat down in Harrogate last week to discuss the possibility of introducing new kick-off times, amongst those discussed were 7:45 pm on a Saturday and 11:30 am on a Sunday.
Due to the new Premier League TV rights deal that will kick in as of the 2019/20 season, a minimum of 190 live games will be broadcast over the course of the season, meaning an increase of at least 22 from the current agreed number of 168.
With many supporters already frustrated at the dwindling numbers of Saturday, 3:00pm kick-offs this is unlikely to be a popular move.
Fans have Virgin Media to thank for the potential new changes if ‘The Daily Mail’ is to be believed. It reports that the broadcaster complained to regulator Ofcom in 2014 about the relative lack of live games available compared to the other major European leagues. Ofcom later dropped their investigation in 2016, citing their satisfaction that the Premier League was making a concerted effort to make more games available for live coverage.
SOURCE: BESOCCER
