SPFL launches rights tender that could allow live Saturday 3pm matches
On 29 October 2026 the Scottish Professional Football League opened a broadcast tender for the next rights cycle, taking initial steps that BBC Sport says could permit live coverage of Saturday 3pm kick-offs and potentially end the UK’s traditional blackout.
The blackout currently prevents televised matches being shown live between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays and is enforced under UEFA’s Article 48 when 50% of matches in a country’s top two divisions kick off simultaneously. Other European leagues now stagger start times so Article 48 cannot be applied, while in the UK 15:00 remains the default kick-off across professional and non-league football, a practice originally adopted amid concerns that televised 3pm matches would depress attendances across divisions.
The SPFL said it is "flexible about the number of games" that will form part of the new deal and has structured the tender to allow maximum flexibility provided a broadcaster does not seek to impose Article 48. BBC Sport understands this includes the possibility that broadcasters could bid to show all matches live, including those played on Saturday afternoons.
Under the existing Scottish top-flight terms Sky Sports may show up to 60 Premiership matches per season and Premier Sports up to 22, out of 228 fixtures in total, meaning 36% of matches are currently televised live. The tender invites broadcasters to submit any proposition for live coverage they choose, but any resulting contract would require approval by the Premiership’s 12 member clubs, with eight votes needed to ratify a deal.
The SPFL’s move sits alongside broader discussion within English football; in August Premier League chief executive Richard Masters signalled a direction of travel toward ending the blackout but said any decision would be 18 months away and made in consultation with the EFL and the FA. The timing of the SPFL tender is notable because the current rights agreements for the Premier League, EFL and SPFL all expire at the end of the 2028-29 season, creating a joint opportunity to revisit blackout arrangements.
While the Scottish tender makes the option to take all matches live available, the SPFL has not committed to adopting that approach and clubs retain the ability to reject any offer that includes Saturday 15:00 fixtures. Scotland abandoning the 3pm blackout would not automatically alter the broadcasting rules for English, Welsh or Northern Irish football.
Any change proposed through the SPFL tender would take effect from the 2029-30 season and must be approved by the Premiership clubs through the eight-vote threshold for a deal to proceed.