Pay-per-view games will generate some revenue in light of no matchday income for clubs, with the continued absence of fans in stadia
Monday 12 October 2020 10:04, UK
The Premier League has announced that additional non-televised fixtures in October will be made available via pay-per-view in order to ensure fans of each club can continue to watch their team, and also to generate some revenue in light of no matchday income for clubs, with the continued absence of fans in stadia.
The 20 clubs came to the interim decision after a meeting on Friday in order to "enable all fans to continue to watch their teams live".
The decision follows Government-imposed restrictions on supporters attending matches, which mean all games currently take place behind closed doors.
Under the new agreement, current live matches selected for TV will remain in place and be broadcast as normal. In addition, the other five matches not selected will be made available to fans on a pay-per-view basis accessed via Sky Sports and BT Sport's existing Box Office platforms.
It will be reviewed in line with any decisions regarding the return of fans to stadiums, the Premier League said.
"Football is not the same without supporters at matches," a statement read. "The Premier League and our clubs remain committed to the safe return of fans as soon as possible."
The decision will mean that at least three of the remaining matches from each match round in October will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office. These matches will be additional to the over 140 shown on Sky Sports this season for Sky Sports customers.
Fans can purchase each match for £14.95/€16.95 via Sky Sports Box Office, channel 491 on the Sky box. Sky subscribers on third party platforms can contact their service provider for more information on how to purchase these matches.
Manchester United's trip to Newcastle United will be the first game to be show on pay-per-view, with the game kicking off at 8pm (Saturday October 17). The following day Sky Sports Box Office will be at the King Power Stadium for Leicester City vs Aston Villa at 7.15pm (Sunday October 18), and the final pay-per-view offering from round five of the Premier League will be West Bromwich Albion vs Burnley, kicking off at 5.30pm (Monday October 19).
Six more games were added later on Friday across gameweeks six and seven, including Liverpool's home fixture with Sheffield United on Saturday October 24, kicking off at 8pm.
Arsenal will host Leicester at the Emirates Stadium the following day at 7.15pm while the pay-per-view offering on Monday, October 26 sees West Brom travel to Brighton, kicking off at 5.30pm. The full list of games can be seen below.
The new broadcasting arrangement is planned for matches in October - and will then be reviewed by the Premier League.
Sky Sports Managing Director Rob Webster said: "Through this exceptionally challenging year we have done everything we can to be the best partner for sport.
"The Premier League has come to this decision with its clubs to provide a service for supporters who are no longer to able attend and to generate matchday revenue. We are happy to support them with this interim solution - and we share their desire to get fans back into grounds as soon as it is safe to do so.
"Our Sky subscribers still get more than 140 of the very best matches, while supporters of individual clubs won't have to miss out on any games during this period."
Sky Sports subscribers will see over 140 matches exclusively live this season including more of the matches that matter.
Sky will have the first pick fixture each weekend including Manchester City vs Arsenal on Saturday October 17 and Manchester United vs Chelsea on Saturday October 24
You can watch match highlights and clips for free via the Sky Sports App and YouTube channel. Around-the-clock news, views, exclusive interviews and features can be found on SkySports.com as well as Sky Sports digital and social platforms.
Sat Oct 17: Newcastle vs Manchester United - Kick-Off 8pm
Sun Oct 18: Leicester City vs Aston Villa - Kick-Off 7.15pm
Mon Oct 19: West Brom vs Burnley - Kick-Off 5.30pm
Sat Oct 24: Liverpool vs Sheffield United - Kick-Off 8pm
Sun Oct 25: Arsenal vs Leicester - Kick-Off 7.15pm
Mon Oct 26: Brighton vs West Brom - Kick-Off 5.30pm
Sun Nov 1: Aston Villa vs Southampton - Kick-Off 12pm
Sun Nov 1: Tottenham vs Brighton- Kick-Off 7.15pm
Mon Nov 2: Fulham vs West Brom - Kick-Off 5.30pm
It couldn't be simpler: we'll have free-to-watch match highlights of every Premier League game on the Sky Sports website, app and the Sky Sports YouTube channel shortly after full-time of every fixture.
In addition, Sky subscribers will also be able to enjoy in-game clips from matches broadcast on Sky Sports Premier League in our digital match blogs.
