Premier League fans boycotting pay-per-view games have raised over £300,000 for charity — but the controversial TV scheme is set to continue at least until next month’s international break.
Matches that are outside the scheduled TV broadcast selections are available on BT Sport Box Office or Sky Sports Box Office for £14.95 per game.
Games had been available free-to-air since the Premier League returned without fans in June. But that changed in early October. Clubs said the pay-to-view measure was an “interim solution” to allow fans to watch their teams live.
However, on Monday Newcastle owner Mike Ashley called for a review, saying fans had “overwhelmingly rejected” the scheme and it should be reduced to £4.95 per game until Christmas. The pricing was subject of a debate at a Premier League shareholders meeting on Tuesday.
The model is set to be extended to the matches on November 6, 7 and 8, but it is understood clubs are likely to delay a longer-term decision until nearer to the Premier League getting back under way on November 21.
The clubs, which voted 19-1 in favour of the move initially, want to wait on the latest information from the government regarding the return of fans to games.
On November 9, the government will debate a petition about the return of fans which received more than 198,000 signatures.
BT Sport and Sky Sports reportedly want the pay-per-view model to be scrapped because of concerns about the damage it is doing to their reputation. The broadcasters provided an estimate of costs to produce the pay-per-view games and the Premier League sets the price.
The Premier League announced their broadcast picks for November on Friday, but there was no mention of pay-to-view games, with the league saying “additional broadcast selections will be announced in due course”.
The move has drawn criticism from football supporters, while former Manchester United and England right-back Gary Neville, now a Sky pundit, said the system “just needs scrapping”.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Neville added: “It’s finished, no one is paying for it, no one is watching it, it’s done.”
