Premier League granted permission to break 3pm blackout rule - but refuses

The Premier League has reportedly been given an unprecedented exemption from the 3pm blackout.

This would have seen all matches on two days during the upcoming festive period broadcast live for supporters to watch - but reports claim league bosses said no.

The Premier League games in question fall on Saturday December 27 and Saturday January 3, scheduled to host the 18th and 20th gameweek of the season.

This would have seen the traditional blackout rule temporarily overturned and fixtures scheduled for 3pm on those Saturdays to be available for live broadcast.

However, The Athletic report top flight chiefs are not planning to exercise this unprecedented ability to provide live 3pm coverage.

The Premier League recently pledged its commitment observing the blackout, with CEO Richard Masters claiming it is here to stay for the time being.

Addressing the blackout at the Leaders football conference in early October, Masters said: “We are committed to it for the foreseeable future and it’s not a decision that we make, it’s done in conjunction with other football bodies, the EFL (English Football League) and the FA (English Football Association).”

The decision not to take up the option to broadcast the 3pm games is likely also influenced by their existing broadcast deals with Sky Sports and TNT Sports

Sky’s deal includes 215 of the 380 games being shown on Friday night, Saturdays at 5.30pm and 8pm, as well as Sunday 2pm and 4.30pm.

They also have the rights for Monday Night Football plus three midweek rounds and the final day of the season.

Meanwhile, TNT shows the Saturday 12:30pm game, in addition to two midweek rounds.

This current rights deal will remain in place until 2029, but there is no guarantee the blackout will continue beyond this.

What is the 3pm blackout?

The 3pm blackout ruling was first devised in the 1960s and has been enforced in the UK since the mid-1980s.

It is mainly in place to ensure crowds at lower league games do not suffer if Saturday 3pm games are shown live on TV.

At the top of the English football pyramid, the Premier League has a responsibility to protect attendances in leagues below them.

However, more recently the blackout has been blamed for playing a part in the increase in fans using illegal streams to watch games, as well as costly television subscriptions.

What is happening in the Premier League on Boxing Day?

The recent news regarding the 3pm blackout in the festive period comes just days after it was revealed that the Premier League is set to have just one fixture scheduled on Boxing Day.

A number of Premier League matches are traditionally played on December 26, a day after Christmas.

EFL fixtures across the Championship, League One and League Two follow suit in what is the busiest time in the football schedule.

However, that looks set to change soon, as there will be just one single top flight match on Boxing Day in 2025.

December 26 falls on a Friday this year, raising uncertainty over how many games will be played then.

When the league released the 2025/26 fixtures in June, it placed the 18th round of matches on Saturday, December 27 instead.

This is likely due to several other factors, with the Premier League contractually obliged to provide 33 weekends of football to broadcasters.

The expansion of UEFA competitions and moving FA Cup matches to weekends only also appears to have affected the scheduling.

It remains to be confirmed whether the Premier League will proceed with their current plans, having been due to announce TV broadcast dates for the entirety of December and January on October 15, before only confirming fixtures up to December 22.

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