UK: Premier League average audience down with the broadcasting of all matches

The average audience for the games during the first three matchdays of the 2020-21 Premier League season is decreasing due to the live broadcasting of all matches (due to them being held behind closed doors), according to the British newspaper the Daily Mail on 05/10/2020.

This drop is however nuanced by the 8% increase in the audience of the 12 matches initially selected by the pay-TV operator Sky, which broadcasted a total of 18 games during the first three matchdays.

Under normal circumstances, not all matches are broadcast live in the UK due to the TV blackout (a ban on broadcasting live matches on Saturdays between 14:45 and 17:45 local time/15:45 and 18:15 CET), which is designed to boost stadium attendance. This measure had been lifted for the end of the 2019-20 season due to games being held behind closed doors as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

No decision has been made on the return of spectators to stadiums in the UK and the pay-TV operators Sky Sports and BT Sport have announced, for the time being, a classic TV programme featuring half of the games on Matchdays 5 and…