Sky Sports has announced a new TV deal that will allow Irish football fans the chance to see live coverage of 33 Saturday 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League for the very first time.
Unfortunately, customers in the UK will not be able to view the same games, with the special viewing package only available in the Republic of Ireland.
The new deal starts next season and will run up to the 2018-19 season, with the sports broadcaster taking possession of 159 games to be broadcast exclusively on their platform. These include Friday night Premier League games as well as Monday night games and the standard Sunday afternoon.
The deal will bring an end to Setanta’s coverage of the Saturday 3pm games, while Sky will now have an additional 43 games to offer to subscribers in Ireland than under the current deal.
There’s no word yet as to whether Sky’s big guns like Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville will be utilised for the Saturday 3pm kick-offs or what effect this will have on the potential to show the same games live in the UK.
Another big rights shift today – Sky Sports has won the rights for the Saturday 3pm / Friday Premier League fixtures from next season.
— Darren Cleary (@RadioCleary) November 12, 2015
Sky showing 3pm kick-offs but only over here. That will be mental.
— bob (@Robbie_OR) November 12, 2015
https://twitter.com/CianByName/status/664779360826736640
