UK: all Premier League matches (behind closed doors) to be broadcast live in September 2020

The 28 September matches of the 2020-21 Premier League season (which begins on Saturday 12/09/2020), played behind closed doors, will all be broadcast live in the UK. No decision has yet been taken on the matches from 01/10/2020 as spectators were expected to return (in limited numbers) to stadiums in the UK from that date. "We must revise plans to pilot larger audiences in stadiums and review our intention to return audiences to stadiums from the 01/10/2020," said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 09/09/2020.

The rights to 17 of these 28 matches had already been acquired by the pay-TV operators Sky Sports and BT Sport. The remaining matches (11) were allocated, as the 2019-20 season ended behind closed doors, to the holders of the rights to broadcast the English league over the 2019-2022 cycle: Sky Sports (6), BT Sport (3), Amazon (1) and BBC (1).

These matches were not previously allocated due to the TV blackout (ban on live broadcasting of matches on Saturday between 14:45 and 17:15 GMT). The English and Scottish Football Associations had requested and obtained the lifting…