No more PPV after this weekend
The Premier League are likely to scrap the controversial pay-per-view system after this weekend’s games, report Amitai Winehouse and Luke Brown. The model — whereby fans are charged £14.95 to watch a single game — has come under serious criticism from fans’ groups, clubs and the government since it was introduced in October.
Who will show the games instead?
All of the Premier League’s games will still be broadcast in the United Kingdom, as they have been since the division returned following the initial pause due to the pandemic.
The rights are likely to go to the Premier League’s existing broadcast partners instead, which means they will be shown on Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime Video.
What did they discuss in relation to PPV?
The Premier League discussed the £14.95 price point and the nature of the PPV model itself, and word from the meeting suggests that they are likely to scrap the model for a period.
What did fans think of PPV matches?
The PPV model was unsurprisingly deeply unpopular with supporters.
It was reported that the first nine matches under the controversial broadcast model averaged 39,000 domestic PPV buys.
However, supporters’ groups campaigned against PPV matches and instead pledged to donate their money to charity. And last month, The Athletic revealed that fan groups had warned the Premier League that protests against the PPV scheme would not end even if the £14.95 fee was lowered.
What else was discussed at today’s meeting?
As well as PPV matches, Premier League clubs also discussed the financial impact of a second COVID-19 lockdown, the need for vigilance on matchday protocols, post-Brexit access to overseas players and a potential bailout for EFL clubs.
The Athletic understands, however, that no hard decisions were made any of these issues.