The Government's demands to have every Premier League match next season televised until fans are allowed back into stadiums has put pressure on broadcasters Sky and BT.
Both broadcasters reluctantly agreed to televise all the remaining Premier League fixtures this campaign, with Sky showing 25 of their 64 matches free-to-air to help gain Government support, while Amazon as well as the BBC, who will be showing their first ever live Premier League matches, have been given four matches each over the next few weeks that will all be available for free.
However, the Daily Mail reports that both Sky and BT do not want to televise every game indefinitely, as it would reduce the value of their initial contracts, one that Sky has held with the Premier League since 1992.
The Premier League are now caught between satisfying their broadcast partners, who provide significant proportions of income to all 20 clubs, and the demands from the Government, who wish to see access to live sport broadened as long as social distancing measures are carried out.
It is understood that both Sky and BT paid around £5bn for the rights to show live Premier League matches between 2019 and 2022, but if several top-flight matches are available for free elsewhere then both broadcasters fear that they would lose subscribers.
Both Sky and BT have received millions in rebates from the Premier League following disruption to their schedules, with clubs higher up in the table having to pay a greater share, and so any other changes to next season's arrangements will see Sky and BT demanding further rebates, which could therefore lead to clubs blocking increased television coverage.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden suggested earlier this week that the Government are hopeful that some fans will be able to attend matches when the new season begins in September - with suggestions of stadiums initially limited to 25% capacity - but a partial return of fans would not solve the television issues that the Premier League have with their broadcast partners.
Oliver Thomas
