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Southampton: All Saints games to be on TV before fans return to stadiums

By Marc Walker

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: TV Camera Operators film from the gantry during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - JULY 05: TV Camera Operators film from the gantry during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Manchester City at St Mary's Stadium on July 05, 2020 in Southampton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Southampton’s matches in the 2020/21 season are set to be shown on English television again before fans are allowed to return to stadiums.

According to a report from the Times, the FA has agreed to lift the 3pm TV blackout that is normally in place to allow fans to watch their teams without having to resort to illegal streams.

When domestic football was suspended back in March, the same sort of deal was sorted for when games started being played again in June.

Saints featured on four different platforms for their nine remaining matches.

A TV camera in situ inside the stadium (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images)
A TV camera in situ inside the stadium (Photo by Alex Broadway/Getty Images) /

Seven games were split between Sky and BT, with some of these being on free-to-air television. Their away trip to Everton was on Amazon Prime, whilst their brilliant 1-0 win over Manchester City was shown to a record-breaking audience of 5.7m on BBC One.

Allowing all matches to be shown to fans at home actually has a huge impact on a number of factors.

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New fans may be discovered due to them being able to watch matches that they would otherwise not be able to. Fans who have perhaps been priced out or are unable to get to games regularly can also watch the clubs that they support.

The amount of money that the likes of Sky and BT pay to hold Premier League match packages has always been well documented but it is good to see an arrangement whilst Coronavirus restrictions are still in place.

Sky and BT own packages that total around £4.464bn and this allows them to be the main rights holders up to 2022.

Amazon Prime joined the party in 2019 and took a deal to show two full matchweeks in each season, whilst the BBC holds rights to highlights and radio coverage.

Premier League football has such as draw throughout the world that it is shown in hundreds of countries, but the importance of keeping the UK fanbase close has become clear with this year’s pandemic.

Saints begin their 2020/21 season with an away trip to Crystal Palace on 12th September, and their full fixture list can be found here.

Next. What will be Hasenhuttl's best Centre-Back duo for 2020/21?. dark

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