The Premier League has concluded deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports for five UK live packages, and with BBC Sport for the free-to-air highlights package. All three agreements will cover the four-year period starting Season 2025/26, and are the largest sports media rights deals ever concluded in the UK.
Sky Sports has been awarded live rights packages B, C, D and E, covering a minimum of 215 live matches per season, which will include more than 140 matches played at weekends, evening matches on Fridays and Mondays, and full coverage of three midweek match rounds. For the first time, Sky Sports will also broadcast all ten matches on the final day of each season.
Meanwhile, TNT Sports has been awarded live rights package A, covering 52 live matches per season, including exclusive coverage of matches played on Saturdays at 12.30pm and full coverage of two midweek match rounds.
At the same time, BBC Sport has been awarded highlights rights for all 380 Premier League matches each season, with additional digital rights for the BBC’s online platforms. The agreement will see BBC Match of the Day continue to bring Premier League action to millions of viewers each week, alongside a full range of additional programming.
For the first time in the UK, all matches taking place outside of the Saturday 3pm “closed period,” including those displaced to Sunday 2pm because of club participation in European competitions, will be broadcast live. According to the Premier League, the announced agreements will deliver a total of £6.7 billion in revenue across the four-year period, inclusive of a 4% increase in live rights value compared to the previous process.
“We are delighted to announce new deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports that will extend our partnership for a further four years and see more Premier League matches than ever before shown live from 2025/26 onwards. As longstanding and valued partners, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are renowned for consistently delivering world-class coverage and programming. We have enjoyed record audiences and attendances in recent seasons, and we know that their continued innovation will drive more people to watch and follow the Premier League,” said Richard Masters, Chief Executive at Premier League.
“We are also extremely pleased to extend our partnership with BBC Sport, which will continue to bring weekly highlights of all Premier League matches to the widest possible audience in the UK. Match of the Day has been an institution for generations of football fans in this country and remains incredibly popular with fans of all ages,” Masters added.
● A REAL-TERM LOSS?
Following the news that the Premier League has sold the UK broadcast rights to Sky and TNT Sports for £6.7 billion, Conrad Wiacek, Head of Sport Analysis at data and analytics company GlobalData, offered his view.
“The Premier League will rightly be delighted to have secured a new media rights deal with Sky and TNT in the UK market. On the surface, the deal is a success and an increase for the Premier League on its previous deal, guaranteeing the league US$8.45 billion (£6.7 billion) in revenue over the next four years. However, in real terms, the deal is a loss for the Premier League. More games are available in the packages, and the term is over four years, as opposed to the three year cycles the Premier League has previously operated in, simply meaning a lower cost per game, which is great for consumers but less so for the Premier League,” Wiacek said.
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