When will the May premier league matches be confirmed, in particular the man united v arsenal on 11t

[PeterM26]

When will the May premier league matches be confirmed for TV slots, I've read it needs to be announced 5 weeks before but not sure if this is right 

[MarkGoldsmith · Accepted solution]

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@PeterM26 wrote:

When will the May premier league matches be confirmed for TV slots, I've read it needs to be announced 5 weeks before but not sure if this is right 

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There isn't actually a deadline. That 5 weeks is just a target set by the premier league which they never meet.

As the season gets closer to the end the fixtures tend to be confirmed later and later due to progression in European cups and fa cup causing scheduling issues.

Fixtures will typically get shifted quite late with little notice due to that and also TV picks with broadcasters wanting to show games affecting the title race and the relegation battle.

In theory you would expect the fixtures for the first half of May to be provisionally set by the end of next week but that won't be a guarantee.

You just need to keep an eye on the premier league website. That is the first place the confirmed matches schedules are posted.

[Limpit86]

The above reply is very detailed and my reply is off topic but it is a disgrace how it's all allowed to be decided so close to fixtures being played. The TV companies/PL (and lower leagues) don't give a damn about match going fans who actually pay money to go to stadium's. Due to money it will never change now though 

[MarkGoldsmith]

Indeed.

At this time of the season it's expected for some matches to be changed with only a few weeks notice due to cup competitions, for example if Man City and Arsenal both get the the semi finals of the champion league then a couple of games will be moved again, although at least the PL have already decided what they would move too should this happen so fans at least are aware it's a possibility what the new date/time will be.

changing games for TV coverage is unfortunately a side affect of having a competitive league where a lot is still up for grabs at the climax. Personally I don think the TV channels should get much of a say over what time a game is played, if they chose it for TV they should be forced to show it at whatever the agreed time the Premier league set for it.

There are also some complications when it comes to the police having the ability or veto suggested match days and times as well. For instance when it comes to London derbies in particular the Met have quite a preference to what kick off times they will allow for games on a Saturday and Sunday, for example they typically refuse requests for an evening Saturday London derby for instance, in fact they much prefer those games to be played in the 12:30 or 2pm weekend slots when they are  scheduled for a weekend. The scheduling of other events also plays a big part as well to ensure the police have resource to manage all events within their jurisdiction.

[ademanuele]

Fans are being treated appallingly. Televised matches are now being announced some 4 weeks in advance. e.g. televised fixtures for the weekend of 4th April have not yet been announced and it will be 4 weeks this Saturday. I contacted the Premier League about this issue at the start of the season and their response is below. I have written to my MP and I am surprised fans are not making an issue of this. Many fans travel long distances to watch games (including from abroad) and are incurring significant additional costs due to the late scheduling of televised matches. 

ps. Sky's filtering systems blocked me postin the PL email address, it can be found on their site.

Begin forwarded message:

From: General Info <****@premierleague.com>
Subject: RE: Premier League live TV 2023/24 fixture announcement dates?
Date: 3 July 2023 at 13:44:36 BST
To: Antony ************ <**********@**.com>

Hi Anthony

Thanks for your email.

We will look to announce our monthly broadcast selections:

August to December: Not later than 6 weeks prior to the relevant Match Round (Match Round 1 – 20)
January to May*: Not later than 5 weeks prior to the relevant Match Round (Match Round 21 – 37)

*Broadcast selections for Match Week 38 will be announced following Match Round 37, with all fixtures played at the same time.

It is our intention to publish each monthly selection as soon as the details have been finalised, and so in some cases the publication date could be earlier than indicated above. Our matches can move for a variety of reasons, including to accommodate fixtures in other domestic and European competitions. This means we will release additional fixture scheduling changes, where required, in addition to the monthly broadcast selections

Our Clubs and other broadcast and media partners will also publish all relevant Premier League fixture updates, just as soon as these have been confirmed.

For further information, please see the link below:

Man City start title defence against Kompany's Burnley (premierleague.com)

Kind regards

************

Supporter Relations


From: Antony ************** <************@**.com>
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2023 4:15 PM
To: General Info <*****@premierleague.com>
Subject: Premier League live TV 2023/24 fixture announcement dates?


Hi,

I could not find the Premier League live TV 2023/24 fixture announcement dates, only the Premier League live TV 2022/23 fixture announcement dates? Do you know if/when this will be available?

Could the Premier League perhaps enforce these dates in the coming season? I travel the length of the country to watch my team (season ticket holder) and the TV companies did not meet thei published deadlines last season (far from it unfortunately)…

Thanks.

Best wishes

Tony



CAUTION: This email originated from outside of your organisation. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognise the sender and know the content is safe.

[ademanuele]

EDIT: 2nd line should read "televised fixtures for the weekend of 4th May have not yet been announced" not "televised fixtures for the weekend of 4th April have not yet been announced"

[MarkGoldsmith]

Unfortunately as we get to the end of the season the fixtures will be confirmed closer to kick off times.

Ultimately fixture congestion plays a big part, with lots of rearranged fixtues to be rescheduled to due to teams advancing further in domestic and european cups. Its typically hard enough earlier in the season for the PL, the broadcasters and the local police forces being able to agree when some fixtures can be played it only gets harder the later the season goes with these congestion issues and the fact that relegation and title races get close so broadcasters tend to what to show these games.

We know the FA, PL and broadcasters don't get a stuff about match going fans unfortunately. They never have, and despite duriing the COVID period them saying how much they missed the atmosphere the fans gave the matches, clearly they haven't changed their ways.