Sky Sports and BT Sport ‘want to scrap Premier League’s controversial pay-per-view scheme charging fans £14.95-a-match after fans complain about the pricey service’
- Reports claim Sky Sports and BT Sport want to scrap the pay-per-view scheme
- Premier League fans are being asked to pay £14.95-a-match for some games
- The service has been since its October launch with some fans boycotting games
- A Sky source claimed the pay-per-view scheme is ‘damaging their reputation’
Both Sky Sports and BT Sport are open to scrapping the controversial pay-per-view scheme for Premier League games, claiming it is ‘damaging their reputations’.
England’s top-flight are charging fans £14.95-per-match in order to gain access to the matches not selected in the original TV picks, with the matches shown on the TV pair’s Box Office channels.
The scheme has been slammed by fans for a variety of reasons, from a lack of analysis coverage in the service to the idea of forking out even more money for TV football subscriptions this season.
Sky and BT are open to scrapping the Premier League’s £14.95-a-match pay-per-view service
Fans are being asked to pay £14.95-a-match to watch half of the top-flight matches this season
And a Sky source told The Mirror: ‘Sky is not happy to be involved in showing the pay-per-view games. We never thought it was a good idea and nothing’s changed since it started.
‘It is damaging the reputation of Sky Sports to be linked to this scheme – and that feeling is shared at BT. Everyone here would prefer for it to stop.’
On Saturday night, Liverpool fans boycotted their match against Sheffield United broadcasted on Sky Sports Box Office and instead donated £14.95 to foodbank charities.
The Reds supporters, led by fan group Spirit of Shankly, raised over £81,000 and follows the work done by Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford in fighting child poverty and starvation.
Other fan groups of Premier League sides such as Arsenal’s Supporters Trust, whose side face Leicester City on Sunday night on the Sky Box Office channel, are also setting up online donations as an alternative to watching games.
Some Liverpool fans boycotted Saturday’s Sheffield United game on Sky Sports Box Office
According to reports, both BT and Sky feel their ‘reputations are being damaged’ by PPV
The pay-per-view scheme was brought in for the first time this season as fans continue to be kept away from football grounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The launch of the service came about as the UK Government’s plans to reintroduce fans into stadia was scrapped at the beginning of October due to a spike in cases across the nation.
The last Premier League match to accept fans in the ground took place on March 9, as Aston Villa were beaten 4-0 by Leicester City.
