The broadcaster battle for Saturday night prime-time TV viewers could reach fever pitch in 2019 after plans were proposed for more Premier League matches to be shown live.
With a minimum of 22 extra fixtures to be broadcasted, the new package could mean that Premier League matches will be shown live on Saturday nights, with more shown midweek and on bank holidays.
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If the Premier League does show live matches on a Saturday night it could find itself up against popular TV programmes such as Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor.
The 2019-2022 three-year deal for the next round of Premier League TV rights goes out to tender before Christmas, says The Guardian. Sky Sports and BT Sport, who paid a record £5.135bn in 2015 for the current contract, could be joined at the bidding table by tech giants such as Amazon, Facebook and Apple.
BBC 5 live sports news correspondent Richard Conway said: “The next Premier League deal will likely herald an even greater battle for the remote control in households across the country.
“That’s because of the looming Saturday night prime-time clash between live top-flight football and big shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor. But where will fans watch? Sky and BT will without doubt be in the mix once again for the bundles of games on offer.
“The other X Factor in this tender process could be the big US tech companies such as Amazon and Apple. They are increasingly showing an appetite for live sports rights, as demonstrated by Amazon’s recent deal for US Open tennis.
“The industry speculation is that this tender process may have come too soon for the internet giants to make any major splash. It could, however, provide a taste for what lies ahead for both the Premier League and supporters.”
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