Premier League: Secretary for Sport's concerns for matches behind closed doors not being free-to-air

"I have said to the Premier League it wouldn't send the best signal if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors and the public at large couldn't have access to it," said Oliver Dowden, British Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, to the BBC on 22/04/2020.

According to the Secretary of State, sports are "reliant on the revenue they derive from broadcasting deals" and may have "elements of protecting revenue from broadcasting but also looking at ways of increasing access." The Premier League's 2019-2022 TV rights are shared by Sky, BT and Amazon (see below), all pay-TV operators. The 2019-20 Premier League has been suspended until further notice since 03/04/2020 (see below).

The English (The FA) and Scottish (SFA) Football Associations have requested and obtained the lifting of the TV blackout (a ban on broadcasting live matches on Saturdays between 14:45 and 17:15 GMT) for the end of the 2019-20 season in order to prepare for a possible resumption of competitions (Premier League, The Emirates FA Cup, Ladbrokes Premiership) behind…