Football fans in the UK will be given a rare treat – and possibly a glimpse into the future – by being able to legally watch a Premier League match on live TV during the traditional 3pm blackout when Manchester City host Leeds at the Etihad on Saturday.
It’s a fixture with plenty riding on it as City have the chance to extend their lead over Arsenal at the top of the table to four points, while Leeds are in a desperate position and only out of the relegation zone on goal difference.
A 4-1 defeat against Bournemouth last Sunday marked the end of Javi Gracia’s brief spell at Elland Road, with Sam Allardyce tasked with keeping the club in the top-flight after being appointed until the end of the season.
Leeds fans who are not making the trip to Manchester will be able to see how Allardyce’s side gets on as the game is being shown live on Sky Sports despite kicking off at 3pm when the blackout rule usually applies.
The match had originally been scheduled to take place on Sunday 7 May, however, with City playing Real Madrid in Spain on Tuesday 9 May in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, it was moved to Saturday instead.
It was not possible to shift the game to the Saturday 12.30pm slot, though, as that would clash with King Charles III’s Coronation, with the service at Westminster Abbey set to take place between 11am-1pm.
A lack of police resources – which was cited as a factor behind matches being postponed on the weekend of Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in September – meant that a late kick-off time of 5.30pm could not be considered either, leaving 3pm on Saturday as the only viable option.
The Premier League said in a statement: “With Manchester City visiting Real Madrid in the first leg of the Uefa Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday 9 May, their home match with Leeds United has moved from Sunday 7 May to 15:00 BST on Saturday 6 May.
“The match will remain live on Sky Sports in the UK, subject to further consultation with relevant stakeholders regarding Article 48.
“The usual Saturday 12:30 BST UK live broadcast slot has been avoided so as not to clash with the King’s Coronation.
“A later kick-off is not possible due to police resourcing.”
The blackout was introduced in the 1960s as a means of protecting stadium attendances throughout the football pyramid by prohibiting televised football between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays.
That isn’t an issue this weekend, however, as the final round of League One games will all take place on Sunday 7 May with the last Championship and League Two fixtures scheduled for Monday 8 May.
Most divisions outside of the Football League were wrapped up last weekend too including the Vanarama Conference which was won by Wrexham.
The blackout has proven to be a divisive issue in recent years.
Supporters of it have argued that more people are likely to watch their local clubs live and therefore, boost their matchday revenues, if there is not a televised Premier League game on at the same time.
However, critics have claimed that it is unfair that supporters are being denied the chance to watch matches at 3pm when subscription packages for the Premier League’s rights holders in the UK including Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime now total hundreds of pounds per season.
The 3pm blackout may soon become a thing of the past as streaming giant DAZN has launched a bid to broadcast every single EFL match live from the 2024-25 season onwards when the next TV rights cycle begins.
DAZN faces competition from existing rights holders Sky Sports and Viaplay and the EFL will present its preferred options to its clubs to vote on.
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