Premier League clubs are set to decide today whether or not to stick with their controversial pay-per-view arrangements for the round of games prior to the November international break.
Fifteen matches played after this month’s internationals were not selected for regular television broadcast and had to be bought on a pay-per-view basis via Sky Sports’ or BT Sport’s box office services at £14.95 each.
Premier League clubs will vote on whether to continue the PPV service for the matches prior to the international break in November
Fans’ groups including the Football Supporters’ Association urged the league and the broadcaster to reconsider the pricing.
Many supporters have opted to donate money to food banks and other charitable causes instead of paying the fee, raising around £300,000.
Even Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has criticised the system currently being used by his employers.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Neville said: “It’s finished, no one is paying for it, no one is watching it, it’s done.”
Meanwhile, Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has urged the Premier League to urgently review its unacceptable pay-per-view arrangements and called for fans to be charged £4.95 for matches until Christmas.
Ashley wants the Premier League to lower the price
He said in a Newcastle statement. Charging £14.95 for single televised matches in the current climate it is not acceptable to any football fan.
Supporters have overwhelmingly rejected this offer and the Premier League must now act.
Why not make it much more accessible at £4.95 per match until Christmas?
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said earlier this month the price was ‘defensible’ while BT Sport said it was simply covering its costs in screening these matches.
But the top-flight clubs will be under pressure to look again at the pricing, with a decision set to be taken today about what broadcast arrangements to put in place for the matches being played between November 6 and 8.
Neville, a pundit for Sky, thinks the system needs scrapping
Premier League clubs had hoped to welcome back some supporters to stadiums from October 1, but the Government has imposed an indefinite delay on those plans due to the rise in coronavirus cases nationwide.
The league has warned English football will lose £100million for every month fans remain barred from grounds, with the EFL stating on Sunday that the Government’s position was ‘frustrating and perplexing’, with indoor venues such as shopping centres and cinemas open to the public.