Scottish Premiership makes first UK move to remove Saturday 3pm broadcast blackout

The Scottish Premiership has made the first move in what is expected to be a coordinated attempt from the UK’s domestic leagues to remove the Saturday afternoon broadcast blackout by inviting bids to televise all of its matches in the next rights cycle from 2029.

A tender document issued by the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) last week is understood to have given broadcasters an option to bid for live rights to all matches, including games kicking off at 3pm on Saturdays, the domestic broadcast of which is currently prohibited under Article 48 of Uefa’s statutes.

The Guardian revealed last year that the Premier League and English Football League were eager for the blackout to be lifted because they have concluded that selling more matches to broadcasters is the best way to raise revenues, a view that also appears to have taken hold in Scotland.

The SPFL’s invitation to tender, first reported by Sports Business, is understood to give bidders the flexibility to bid on the basis of the blocked hours governed by Article 48 not being in place.

A source with knowledge of the tender told the Guardian it appeared increasingly unlikely that the four British Football Associations would apply blocked hours in their territories after 2029.

UK broadcasters are prevented from showing live football between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays when 50% of games in the top two divisions take place during that period, a provision that means 3pm kick-offs can be broadcast on FA Cup weekends and on weekend bank holidays over Christmas.

The UK is the last country in Europe to invoke Article 48, which allows associations to stipulate a period during which matches cannot be televised live in their territory.

While the English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs are responsible for applying Article 48, they will be guided by the wishes of the clubs.

UK broadcasters can currently show up to 270 Premier League matches, 1,059 EFL games and 82 from the Scottish Premiership, amounting to 35% of fixtures across the season.

The Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, said in August the subject of lifting Article 48 was a live discussion. “We’ve got to take that decision at some point in the future about whether things are going to change,” he told Talksport. “It’s not a decision for now. It’s a decision we’ve got to make before the next set of domestic processes that the EFL and the Premier League are going to do. I’d say in about 18 months’ time we’ll come back to that decision about whether Article 48 should remain or not.”