The BBC will for the first time air free-of-charge Premier League soccer games live when the season restarts next month, the broadcaster said on Thursday.
The corporation confirmed it will show four live matches throughout the remainder of the 2019-20 campaign, alongside their usual Match of the Day highlight programmes.
“This opportunity creates an historic moment for the BBC and our audiences. At a time when sports fans across the country are in need of lift, this is very welcome news,” Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, said.
The Premier League, formed in 1992, will restart on June 17th provided all safety requirements have been put in place.
Aston Villa will play Sheffield United on that date, a Wednesday, while Manchester City take on Arsenal, the league announced following a shareholders’ meeting of the clubs on Thursday.
Both are rearranged games, and will mean all 20 clubs have played 29 matches heading into the weekend of June 19th-21st, when the rest of the top flight will be in action.
The last Premier League match before the shutdown was Leicester versus Aston Villa on March 9th, with all English professional football being suspended on March 13th.
The clubs also agreed that all 92 matches would be broadcast live by the league’s partners – Sky Sports, BT Sport, BBC Sport and Amazon Prime.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “Today we have provisionally agreed to resume the Premier League on Wednesday June 17.
“But this date cannot be confirmed until we have met all the safety requirements needed, as the health and welfare of all participants and supporters is our priority.
“Sadly, matches will have to take place without fans in stadiums, so we are pleased to have come up with a positive solution for supporters to be able to watch all the remaining 92 matches.
“The Premier League and our clubs are proud to have incredibly passionate and loyal supporters. It is important to ensure as many people as possible can watch the matches at home.
“We will continue to work step-by-step and in consultation with all our stakeholders as we move towards resuming the 2019-20 season.”
It is expected that new staggered kick-off times will be used for the remaining 92 matches.
Games on a Friday will kick off at 8pm, while on Saturday the slots will be 12.30pm, 3pm, 5.30pm and 8pm.
Sunday matches will kick off at either 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm and 7pm, with Monday games starting at 8pm.
Midweek games on Tuesdays and Wednesday will kick off at either 6pm or 8pm.
