What is the Premier League Saturday 3 pm Blackout?

The decision has been widely criticised by fans

The 3 pm ban that stops British football fans from watching Saturday afternoon matches on television has been declared out by the Premier League.

The English Football League is prepared to do away with the 3 pm limit as they get set to discuss their upcoming TV rights agreement starting with the 2024–25 season.

But when it comes to England's top division, Premier League CEO Richard Masters has ruled out any modification to the status quo.

‘'We’ve been proponents of Article 48 for the entire period of the Premier League and I don’t see that changing in the near term,’ Masters said.”

Members of UEFA may choose a weekend time period of two and a half hours during which live football is not permitted on TV during Article 48 of the organization's bylaws.

In order to protect stadium attendance on Saturdays, the English Football Association and broadcasters determined that no live football could be telecast between 2.45 pm and 5.15 pm.

Of the 53 countries that make up UEFA, only Scotland and Montenegro also subscribe to Article 48.

While many nations outside of the UK get access to every Premier League game irrespective of kick-off time, the blackout is becoming a bigger source of annoyance for fans at home.

This is true despite the fact that expensive subscriptions to Sky Sports, BT Sport, and Amazon Prime Video are required for fans to legally watch live Premier League football in the UK.

In response to a shifting broadcast market, the EFL's tender document for the upcoming rights cycle was in the form of a request for bids instead of a fixed proposal, which made it possible for 3 pm games to be televised live for the first time.

Together with new Television partners Sky Sports and other networks, the EFL will focus on companies like Facebook, Netflix, Google, Apple, and Amazon.

The League's board is certain that by dividing up the various packages, they can reach a target of £200 million annually, which is a big increase over their current agreement of £119 million.

As the EFL has made it plain that they are happy to televise every game and do away with the blackout, which has been a part of the rules since the 1960s, the contract document does not specify a certain number of games or contract term.

Matches were broadcast live in the UK during the Saturday blackout during the Covid epidemic, but the restriction was resumed when crowds returned to the stadiums.

The upcoming Premier League licenses in the UK will span from 2025 to 2028, and there will likely be fierce competition during the auction.

But according to Masters, there won't be any competition for Saturday kickoffs at 3 p.m. for the foreseeable being.