Shedding light on the 3pm Blackout: It's place in modern Football

An explanation of the 3pm blackout law and it's role in the changing landscape of the modern game.

Live sport as a source of entertainment in society can be dated back to ancient Egypt with evidence to suggest Archery competitions and swimming races were held. To be enjoyed by athletes and spectators alike.

Fast forward to the late 1930’s and the emergence of Television is changing the sporting landscape.

The law…

The 3pm blackout law states that between the time of 2:45 & 5:15pm on a Saturday, no live Football/highlights are permitted to be broadcasted, with the exception of the F.A cup final.

The only countries where such a law applies to this day are: England, Scotland & Montenegro.

How did the law come about?

What was previously a source of enjoyment to the players and a modest number of fans in attendance. Was beginning to be looked at as a commercial vehicle and no sport captured the attention like Football.

Just two years after the BBC began broadcasting they showed the first live competitive football match, the 1938 F.A cup final between Preston North End & Huddersfield Town.

Any game to be shown on TV was first scrutinised out of fear it would impact attendances in a world of football where gate receipts were the primary source of a club’s income.

The F.A cup final became a TV institution, being one of the only games a year that could be watched live and in full.

The F.A cup was the “gateway” if you will, for football’s transition into a product for TV.

It wasn’t until the 1960/61 season where a TV deal was struck between ITV & the football league for the rights to broadcast 26 live games over the course of that season. With the blackout law already in place since the 1950’s.

Why was it introduced?

The law was put in place in order to protect the attendances of smaller clubs. The future of these clubs relied upon supporters attending their games at 3pm every Saturday.

This issue came to light in the 1960’s. Legendary Burnley chairman Bob Lord, theorised that broadcasting a game played at 3pm would have a devastating impact on the attendances of hundreds of 3pm kick-offs up and down the country.

Lord assumed that many fans would much rather watch “the big game” elsewhere than following their local side. Costing clubs on the breadline the earnings necessary to stay afloat.

The blackout in the modern game

Times have changed since the 60’s and T.V now has a much greater influence on football than it ever has. Not least because of the extortionate fees that rights are being sold for, to the likes of Sky, BT and most recently Amazon.

The top flight fixtures are also adapted to fit in with TV scheduling. For example, it is unlikely that two of the “top 6” will play each other at 3pm on a Saturday

Therefore, very few "Big games" are allocated a Saturday 3pm kick off time.

With this in mind, how harmful would a lift of the blackout be to football in the UK? Particularly to those sides further down the football league pyramid. Could showing a game at 3pm on a Saturday really be so harmful to grassroots football?

In short we don’t know. The benefits of the blackout law are widely accepted, but have never been proven, as the law has been in place as long as football has been on TV. It is anyone’s guess how large/small the law’s impact is.

The future?

It is my belief that blackout law has become something woven into football which acts more as a barrier to the progression of the sport than anything else.

The price of broadcasting rights means that there is much less of a reliance on match day attendances as a revenue stream for top flight clubs. So the rights for the 3pm games could be extremely lucrative.

More fans staying at home to watch games on TV may lead to more empty seats. Half empty stadiums are a bad look for any football club (especially during a televised game with social media allowing instantaneous comment).

This could force clubs to lower the price of tickets in an attempt to fill stadiums, which would be a big win for the fans.

So, what would be the best way of going about broadcasting a 3pm kick off should the blackout be lifted?

I believe the best way to go about it would be to provide a similar show to the “Goal Centre” we saw Amazon Prime host when showing the Boxing day 3pm fixtures.

These broadcasting rights would be of interest to Sky to add to their “Gillette Soccer Saturday” as well BT and the BBC who run “Score” & “Final Score” programmes respectively.

This format would show replayed highlights of notable events like Goals and red cards. Penalties, corners and free kicks could also be shown in real time.

This is a product which would provide a significant competitive advantage to the winner of the rights, meaning it would cost a pretty penny.

What solidifies this format as the best way forward is that it’s not an appealing enough television product to drag fans away from supporting their local side. Whereas, a fully televised game following on from a 12:30 kick off certainly would be.

• What are your thoughts on the blackout law? and what areas of the game could be improved by seeing this extra revenue?