Why there is no 12:30pm Premier League game on Saturday as fixture is moved to unusual time
Yesterday at 06:31 AM
Premier League fans will again have to adjust to a new viewing schedule with no early Saturday kick-off this weekend.
Top-flight clubs have now completed the busy winter schedule but more fixtures than ever are being shifted around for TV rights.
Saturday’s 12:30pm kick-off has been a mainstay during this period, with Bournemouth beating Newcastle 4-1 in last weekend’s slot.
However, no Premier League club have been booked to play at the same time on January 25 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 the conditions of the fixture selected by TNT Sports.
TNT Sports occupies the 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.
If the match that TNT choose are unavailable to play at 12:30pm then the slot is left blank and it is rescheduled for a later time.
The Premier League’s secondary broadcaster has chosen Manchester United‘s trip to Fulham as their pick for Gameweek 23.
The Red Devils play Scottish giants Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, and therefore can’t be involved in a Saturday fixture, which has forced TNT to alter their usual schedule.
It was originally proposed that Ruben Amorim‘s men could then face Fulham during the 12pm slot for the match on Sunday, January 26.
As reported by The Times, United asked for the kick-off time to be changed as they wanted ‘more time for player recovery’.
The Red Devils are said to have argued that a minimum of 72 hours between matches is needed player recovery.
The 2pm and 4.30pm slots were already taken for Sky Sports games, so instead TNT were forced to pivot to Sunday evening.
A spokesman for the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) said: "The Sunday evening kick-off slot is really unpopular with match-goers as public transport options are limited and it's no good for families with young kids.
"When the general slot was announced the Premier League told us it was a 'contingency' — but it seems to be getting used an awful lot for such a provision.
"A big part of the problem is allowing broadcasters to choose 'conditional' picks which are then moved when a team progresses in Europe.
"The Premier League puts broadcasters first by allowing them to select such games knowing full well conditional picks are very likely to be rescheduled again."
Fulham vs Man United: talkSPORT coverage
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