64-year Scottish Premiership tradition set to be scrapped as part of huge shake-up in British football
Scottish football fans could soon be treated to more live matches than ever before
The 3pm Saturday blackout is likely to be scrapped before the end of the current decade in one of the biggest shake-ups to live British football television in 64 years.
Since 1960, there has been a television blackout preventing 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-offs from being shown live throughout the United Kingdom.
This rule was introduced to ensure that there was not a negative impact on matchday attendances on Saturdays in grounds throughout Scotland, England and Wales.
This rule has therefore prevented broadcasting heavyweights such as BBC Sport, Sky Sports and Premier Sports from providing coverage of any matches in that time period.
As a result, Hearts and Hibs game are often moved to different times of the day such as early afternoon, late afternoon or even evenings to help TV companies benefit as much as possible from the capital clubs.
However, reports from the National suggest that these rules could be scrapped by the start of the 2029/30 season due to rising concerns across the English Premier League regarding the financial details of the new TV contract.
The Premier League has long been renowned as one of the most marketable divisions in world football and there is an increasing consensus that the best way to boost revenue is by simply broadcasting more matches.
Consequently, Scottish football could be forced to also adapt to this trend as more football fans gravitate towards illegal streaming services.
The latest TV deal for English football, which runs from 2025 to 2020, is valued at around 6.7 billion. This works out annually at around 1.675 billion, which is a slight drop off from the 1.713bn secured in 2015 for the 2016 to 2019 season.
From the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season, each 3pm kick off will be available for viewing on television.
This follows on from the decision in August to show over 1,000 Championship, League One and League Two matches annually on Sky Sports at 3pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Scotland, an additional 20 Premiership matches are available for live viewing on subscription television from this season, with Premier Sports sharing the rights with Sky Sports for over 60 matches each season, in a deal which runs until 2029.