‘Pure greed’ – Major Premier League broadcast decision leaves Jeff Stelling furious
talkSPORT’s Jeff Stelling has passionately warned that abolishing the 3pm blackout will be ‘the end’ of lower league clubs. A report from The Times claims the blackout could be scrapped once the next Premier League and EFL broadcasting deals conclude. The 3pm blackout could be coming to an end in the near futureGetty Current rules prohibit the broadcasting of live football during the Saturday afternoon slot, with the UK the last European country to have this. It has led to a recent increase in fans using illegal streams to watch Premier League matches, alongside costly television subscriptions. However, the report says the blackout is ‘unlikely’ to remain in place after the 2028/29 season. Stelling believes that removing the blackout will have a huge impact on EFL clubs. Responding to the report, the animated talkSPORT host said: “So the headline should read, ‘Greedy Premier League, it’s all about us. You lot, you can go and do one, we don’t care about you’. “There’s no point in comparing it with European leagues for a start because football in England, the pyramid, is totally different. In this country, people care about teams in the Championship, in League One, in League Two, in the National League. “It seems the Premier League don’t care at all and frankly, the fact that the Premier League or whoever it is, are saying that they’re worried about illegal streaming, so what? “Tell the TV companies to cut the price of subscriptions and that will stop people streaming things illegally instead. They’ve got to start to look after the lower league sides. “If Grimsby are playing Morecambe, Saturday afternoon and it’s cold, wet and miserable, and Manchester United against Manchester City is on TV live at 3pm, how many people are going to go to Grimsby against Morecambe? “I can tell you how many: a big, fat zero, and that will be the end of clubs at a lower level.” Premier League football could be broadcast on a Saturday afternoonGetty Stelling expressed his distaste at the potential changetalkSPORT Rangers and Scotland legend Ally McCoist sided with his colleague and said: “Agreed, you’re 100 per cent right mate. “Spoken from the heart, spoken with passion from a Hartlepool supporter, it’s impossible to argue with anything you’ve said, you’re just factually correct. “It’s all about the rich getting richer and the poor, they’re going to disappear, they’re going to disappear, it’s very, very sad. “Do you know what it is? The word Jeff, is greed, it’s appalling actually, to tell you the truth, it really is.” Stelling then responded to a fan who messaged into the show to ask what difference it would make to show games at 3pm. He said: “Simon, it makes a difference, not to your team, you might miss a game, but it makes a massive difference to other teams who are less fortunate. Attendances at EFL matches could be affected if the blackout is scrappedGetty “It’s a collective that we’re talking about in football, not individual teams!” The Daily Mail reports that the last domestic broadcast agreement, which runs from 2025 to 2029, was worth around £6.7billion. As of next season, all Premier League matches that are not scheduled for 3pm on a Saturday will be broadcast on television. Over 1,000 EFL matches will be televised on Sky Sports each year as per a new deal that kick-started in the current campaign. The latest news on the blackout has followed the announcement that the Premier League will launch their own in-house media operation. It could pave the way for what talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan has dubbed as a ‘Netflix of Football’, where matches will be shown on a streaming service.
talkSPORT’s Jeff Stelling has passionately warned that abolishing the 3pm blackout will be ‘the end’ of lower league clubs.
A report from The Times claims the blackout could be scrapped once the next Premier League and EFL broadcasting deals conclude.
Current rules prohibit the broadcasting of live football during the Saturday afternoon slot, with the UK the last European country to have this.
It has led to a recent increase in fans using illegal streams to watch Premier League matches, alongside costly television subscriptions.
However, the report says the blackout is ‘unlikely’ to remain in place after the 2028/29 season.
Stelling believes that removing the blackout will have a huge impact on EFL clubs.
Responding to the report, the animated talkSPORT host said: “So the headline should read, ‘Greedy Premier League, it’s all about us. You lot, you can go and do one, we don’t care about you’.
“There’s no point in comparing it with European leagues for a start because football in England, the pyramid, is totally different. In this country, people care about teams in the Championship, in League One, in League Two, in the National League.
“It seems the Premier League don’t care at all and frankly, the fact that the Premier League or whoever it is, are saying that they’re worried about illegal streaming, so what?
“Tell the TV companies to cut the price of subscriptions and that will stop people streaming things illegally instead. They’ve got to start to look after the lower league sides.
“If Grimsby are playing Morecambe, Saturday afternoon and it’s cold, wet and miserable, and Manchester United against Manchester City is on TV live at 3pm, how many people are going to go to Grimsby against Morecambe?
“I can tell you how many: a big, fat zero, and that will be the end of clubs at a lower level.”
Rangers and Scotland legend Ally McCoist sided with his colleague and said: “Agreed, you’re 100 per cent right mate.
“Spoken from the heart, spoken with passion from a Hartlepool supporter, it’s impossible to argue with anything you’ve said, you’re just factually correct.
“It’s all about the rich getting richer and the poor, they’re going to disappear, they’re going to disappear, it’s very, very sad.
“Do you know what it is? The word Jeff, is greed, it’s appalling actually, to tell you the truth, it really is.”
Stelling then responded to a fan who messaged into the show to ask what difference it would make to show games at 3pm.
He said: “Simon, it makes a difference, not to your team, you might miss a game, but it makes a massive difference to other teams who are less fortunate.
“It’s a collective that we’re talking about in football, not individual teams!”
The Daily Mail reports that the last domestic broadcast agreement, which runs from 2025 to 2029, was worth around £6.7billion.
As of next season, all Premier League matches that are not scheduled for 3pm on a Saturday will be broadcast on television.
Over 1,000 EFL matches will be televised on Sky Sports each year as per a new deal that kick-started in the current campaign.
The latest news on the blackout has followed the announcement that the Premier League will launch their own in-house media operation.
It could pave the way for what talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan has dubbed as a ‘Netflix of Football’, where matches will be shown on a streaming service.
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