Scottish Football Opens Door to Ending the 3pm TV Blackout

Scottish football has taken its first steps toward ending the traditional 3pm television blackout, as it solicits offers for the next broadcast cycle.

The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has indicated flexibility regarding the number of matches included in the upcoming deal, set to commence in the 2029-30 season.

Under this approach, broadcasters would have the opportunity to bid for live rights across all matches, including those traditionally scheduled for Saturday afternoons.

The SPFL has structured its tender to maximize flexibility, contingent on any broadcaster avoiding the invocation of Article 48 of the UEFA Statutes.

Article 48 empowers leagues to designate prohibited windows for live television coverage, a measure enforceable only when at least half of the matches in a nation’s top two divisions are played simultaneously.

Europe has previously experimented with match blackouts, but the UK remains one of the few regions where such restrictions persist exclusively between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on Saturdays.

Many other leagues now stagger kick-off times across divisions, preventing the uniform scheduling required to enforce a blackout.

In the UK, 3pm has long been the standard default kick-off time, spanning from the Premier League down through non-league football.

The blackout was originally implemented over concerns that 3pm televised fixtures could deter attendances, impacting not only the featured clubs but also lower-tier teams.

With the rise of streaming services, critics argue the blackout now hampers clubs’ capacity to capitalize on valuable broadcast revenue.

This restriction is particularly impactful at lower levels, where clubs have been required to comply with the blackout and refrain from streaming any matches online.

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters recently suggested the league is moving toward ending the blackout, though any formal decision would require approximately 18 months and collaborative consultation with the EFL and FA.

With the broadcast rights cycles for the Premier League, EFL, and SPFL all concluding in 2028-29, a unique window emerges for all leagues to align and reach a consensus.

Although the option to include all matches is under consideration in Scotland, it remains uncertain whether it will ultimately be exercised.

Currently, Sky Sports holds rights to up to 60 Premiership matches per season, with Premier Sports covering up to 22.

With 228 total fixtures in the top flight, the current deal brings live coverage to just 36% of matches.

The tender permits broadcasters to submit any live coverage proposition they deem fit.

Final approval would rest with the Premiership’s 12 member clubs, requiring at least eight votes to endorse any agreement.

Clubs retain the potential to reject any offer that includes the traditional Saturday 3pm fixtures.

Should Scotland decide to end the 3pm blackout, it would not automatically compel English, Welsh, or Northern Irish football to follow suit.

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