A long-held tradition within English football could soon come to an end as the Premier League and English Football League prepare to begin talks about a significant shift within the sport. The 3pm blackout rule has been in effect since 1960s and it currently prevents football matches from being shown on UK television between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays. The policy was introduced to encourage fans to attend lower league games and comes into effect when 50 per cent of fixtures in the Premier League and Championship are scheduled to kick-off at 3pm. The move to abolish through the 3pm blackout rule is supported by the majority of the Premier League clubs' American owners - as that is a model that is applied to US sports. Speaking in October, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the future of the blackout is up for debate.

Source: Metro December 26, 2025 16:09 UTC