The Premier League has made available to interested parties two separate Invitations to Tender for its UK live and free-to-air highlights rights for the three seasons 2019/20–2021/22.
These documents describe the packages of rights the Premier League is now inviting bids for:
- Live audio-visual rights to a total of 200 matches per season – split into seven packages.
- A Free-to-Air highlights package.
The Live rights consist of five packages of 32 matches and two packages of 20 matches per season.
No single buyer will be allowed to acquire more than 148 matches per season.
The packages include provisions for all matches in three midweek rounds per season, and one Bank Holiday round per season, to be broadcast live.
One package includes the rights to broadcast live a maximum of eight matches per season on Saturdays at 19:45.
This creates an attractive offering for broadcasters and fans, while allowing the continued protection of the Saturday 15:00 "closed period" – the purpose of which is to encourage attendances and participation at all levels of the sport at the traditional time at which English football takes place across the country.
The Premier League intends at a later date to conduct a separate sales process for a single Near-Live package encompassing:
- Near-live long-form rights to 180 non-live matches per season, for linear and on-demand exploitation.
- Internet clips rights to all 380 matches per season.
- The Live packages will be available for exploitation on a technology-neutral basis.
