BBC to air Premier League for first time

Presenters of the BBC’s Match of the Day

UK public broadcaster the BBC will show live English Premier League (EPL) football for the first time ever when the competition resumes next month.

For the first time since the Premier League’s inception in 1992, the BBC will broadcast four live games on free-to-air television as the division returns from its Covid-19 shutdown to play behind closed doors.

These will go alongside a bumper crop of Match of the Day highlight programmes as the league races to complete 92 matches to finish the season from June 17.

All matches will take place behind closed doors, with pay TV/streamers Sky Sports, BT Sport and Amazon Prime broadcasting the other 88 games live.

Sky Sports will show 64 of these matches, comprising the 39 they were scheduled to show prior to the lockdown plus a further 25 they will make available FTA.

The last EPL game took place on March 9 before all live sports in the UK were cancelled due to the pandemic.

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

“We are delighted and excited to have the chance to show live Premier League games on the BBC. This will offer audiences, who haven’t had the opportunity in the past, live, free-to-air access to the best football league in the world, as the BBC continues to keep the country entertained during these unprecedented times.”

The BBC said it will be working with the EPL to ensure all appropriate safety measures are adhered to in the broadcasting of the games.

These games sit alongside the BBC’s existing live FA Cup offering, although no dates have yet been confirmed for the competition’s return.