TREVOR EAST has called for the end of the 3pm blackout and insisted it should be SCRAPPED.
The former ITV head of sport played a key role in the first TV football deal in 1988, which included the enforced blackout.
The 3pm blackout is under scrutiny again[/caption]
Trevor East believes it no longer ‘works’[/caption]
East, who now works for Pitch International, is one of the biggest names in TV sport and believes that piracy and “dodgy fire sticks” are massive threats to the Premier League.
He thinks that scrapping the 3pm blackout would allow fans who pay for subscriptions to watch more games.
This could result in fewer people turning to fire sticks or illegal streams to watch the matches they want.
The Premier League’s most recent four-year TV deal was worth a staggering £6.7BILLION with Sky Sports and TNT Sports.
The two broadcasters are able to show up to a combined 270 live matches per season.
East told The Mirror: “Every illegal dodgy fire stick sold for £75 quid is a subscriber lost.
“It will damage the model, it is getting more difficult and the value of the rights will diminish.
“What happens next is obvious but it will mean the clubs will get less and the league suffers.
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“Even the current deal was more money but it’s also more games and the value of each live game was less.
“They’ve done it this way to ensure the money goes up, but what can they do next time?
“They will have to show more games and scrap the blackout.
“It no longer works when so many people are watching illegal streams or you’ve got pubs and bars showing games illegally.
“People overseas can watch every game but we can’t.
“They have to find a way and that will start with scrapping the blackout to enable people to see every game if they want.”
Sky Sports‘ £935million five-year deal with the EFL to broadcast over 1,000 games per season.
That deal will also expire at the same time as the one with the Prem.
East also claimed that the current blackout has no “effect whatsoever” as there are already so many games shown on TV.
He admitted that notable people such as Brian Clough were “nervous” about football being shown on TV as they were worried it would “kill the game at the grassroots level”.
