Why there is no 12:30pm kick-off in the Premier League this Saturday despite packed top-flight schedule
Today at 07:45 AM
Premier League football will be uninterrupted for the next four months but there will be no early Saturday kick-off this weekend.
Top-flight clubs are preparing to enter the busy winter schedule following the end of the final international break until March.
The Premier League returned with a bang last weekend, with Chelsea beating Leicester in Saturday’s 12:30pm kick-off, live on talkSPORT.
However, no Premier League club have been booked into the same slot on November 30 after further fixture tweaks…
Why is there no 12:30pm kick-off?
There is no Saturday lunchtime kick-off in the Premier League this weekend due to no games being selected for broadcast.
TNT Sports occupies the broadcast rights to screen top-flight matches in the 12:30pm slot with Package A.
That deal grants them access to air 52 Premier League games a season, which are divided by Saturday lunchtime and two rounds of midweek fixtures.
That means there are four blank gameweeks with no TNT coverage of England’s elite.
Unfortunately for fans, TNT Sports have made this Saturday the second weekend with no presence on the domestic game.
The first of which came in Gameweek 9 following eight straight picks to start the 2024/25 season.
Gameweek 11 also had no early Saturday showing, but that was because Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa was moved to 8pm.
TNT now block clubs playing away in the Champions League in midweek from returning to action at 12:30pm, but that is not a factor this week.
Premier League Gameweek 12
Friday, October 25
Ineligible for 12:30pm coverage
- Brighton vs Southampton – 8pm, talkSPORT EXCLUSIVE
Saturday, October 26
Eligible for 12:30pm coverage but not chosen
- Brentford vs Leicester City – 3pm
- Crystal Palace vs Newcastle – 3pm
- Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Town – 3pm, talkSPORT 2 EXCLUSIVE
- Wolves vs Bournemouth – 3pm
Ineligible for 12:30pm coverage
- West Ham vs Arsenal – 5:30pm
Sunday, October 27
Ineligible for 12:30pm coverage
- Chelsea vs Aston Villa – 1:30pm
- Manchester United vs Everton – 1:30pm
- Tottenham vs Fulham – 1:30pm
- Liverpool vs Manchester City – 4pm
That is because there is no 8pm kick-off this weekend either, with TNT simply choosing not to broadcast a game.
While there will be no official reasoning behind their decision as the timing of their blanks is not mandated, European action has surely played a part.
TNT Sports hold the bulk of the UK rights to Champions League football, and exclusive UK coverage of Europa League, and Europa Conference League action.
Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United‘s European adventures will all be shown by them in midweek.
The latter three teams are all in action on Thursday, meaning that they are ineligible to play at 12:30pm and have to play on Sunday.
Leading Premier League broadcaster Sky Sports has already selected table-toppers Liverpool against champions City for their coverage.
Sky will also be showing live coverage of Brighton vs Southampton on Friday before West Ham host London rivals Arsenal the following night.
That left TNT with just four fixtures to select from – featuring just one team out of eight who finished in the top nine last season.
It includes involvement from both Bournemouth and Brentford, who have the two smallest stadiums in the Premier League.
Newly-promoted Leicester, who were in last weekend’s 12:30pm slot, and Newcastle, who have already had two early Saturday kick-offs.
Clubs have to be featured a minimum of once a season in TNT’s 12.30pm slot – with a maximum number of six.
