Premier League re-start: All 92 remaining games to be shown live, including some free-to-air

BBC to show four live games, its first since the formation of the EPL in 1992

The Premier League has agreed to a new provisional restart date for the 2019-20 season and announced that all the remaining matches will be shown live on television in the UK.

Fixtures will resume on Wednesday 17 June, provided that all safety requirements are in place, with Aston Villa v Sheffield United and Manchester City v Arsenal.

A full match round will then begin on Friday 19 June. Due to COVID-19, all matches will take place behind closed doors with no fans present.

All of the remaining 92 matches will be broadcast live in the UK by the league’s existing broadcast partners: Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime.

64 of those will be shown on Sky, 20 on BT Sport and four on Amazon Prime. The BBC will also show four live games, its first since the formation of the EPL in 1992.

“This opportunity creates a historic moment for the BBC and our audiences,” director of BBC Sport, Barbara Slater said. “At a time when sports fans across the country are in need of a lift, this is very welcome news.”

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters did note that everything was still provisional at this stage.

He said: “Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday 17 June. But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority.

“Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.

He added that it was important to the league to ensure “as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.”

“We will continue to work step-by-step and in consultation with all our stakeholders as we move towards resuming the 2019-20 season.”

The planned kick-off times in the UK for live matches will also differ from traditional times with the 3pm blackout, which was implemented to protect attendances at lower league English football matches, removed temporarily as there are currently no other professional or semi-professional fixtures taking place in England.

Weekend matches will be scheduled as follows (all times BST):

• Friday 20:00
• Saturday 12:30; 15:00; 17:30; 20:00
• Sunday 12:00; 14:00; 16:30; 19:00
• Monday 20:00

Midweek matches will be scheduled as follows (all times BST):

• Tuesday 18:00; 20:00
• Wednesday 18:00; 20:00
• Thursday 18:00; 20:00

The plan for football to resume behind closed doors still requires the green light from the UK’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Football in England has been suspended since 13 March.