SM
Brighton vs. Man City: 10 hrs 3 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

Culture Secretary demands Premier League show remaining games on free-to-air TV

:Headline: Culture Secretary demands Premier League show remaining games on free-to-air TV: ID:397268: from db_amp
Oliver Dowden appeared before the DCMS committee and concerns were raised over whether people would break social-distancing rules to watch matches.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted it "wouldn't send the best signal" if Premier League games were only available via subscription should the competition be able to resume behind closed doors.

Sky Sports and BT hold the UK television rights for live Premier League matches in what remains of the 2019-20 Premier League season, which is currently suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Dowden appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on Wednesday, and its chair Julian Knight raised concerns that if matches were only on subscription services rather than free-to-air, there may be the temptation for people to go to each other's houses to watch it.

Dowden said: "I've raised this challenge to the Premier League in the conversations I've had with them.

Oliver Dowden appeared before the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee on Wednesday (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

"I have said to the Premier League it wouldn't send the best signal if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors and the public at large couldn't have access to it."

When further pushed by Knight on whether that meant we could expect to see matches on BBC or ITV, Dowden said: "I'm certainly not going to jump a further step ahead and start speculating about the platform upon which they might broadcast.

"To your point, if they are being mindful of access points that doesn't just have to be going onto traditional terrestrial matches, or even showing all of the matches.

"There's all sorts of creative options within that but it is something they should be considering, and they have said they are."

“I have said to the Premier League it wouldn't send the best signal if they were one of the first major sports to resume behind closed doors and the public at large couldn't have access to it.”
- Oliver Dowden

Dowden said there had been "productive conversations" with sporting bodies about how they might go about resuming activity in the event of restrictions being relaxed, but insisted these were on a "without prejudice" basis and that nothing would happen unless scientific advice changed.

"We have had productive conversations. We must be content that it sends the correct signal. But within that we have been involved in some constructive discussions. We have already engaged with the police, Public Health England, the Local Government Association and others. We're progressing this.

"We want to get to a point where we've bottomed out with this work, dealt with all the practicalities of it, then if the wider circumstances permit we would seek through Cobra and others to do it. That is not what we're talking about right now, but we want to make sure we do all the preparatory work."

amp_article__397268 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2020-04-22 17:37:20:
html db last update - 2021-02-24 19:39:04 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Coronavirus outbreak - Click here for more stories

Click here for more stories about Oliver Dowden

Share this article now:
Read more about Oliver Dowden Football
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .