Premier League to introduce new kick-off times

They're going up against the big guns on Saturday nights.

Premier League games will take place at 7.45pm on Saturday nights for the first time ever from the 2019/2020 season onwards. Broadcasters are set to bid for the rights to show 200 live matches across the entire season, up from 168 under the current deal. Eight Premier League matches will be shown in a new time slot of 7.45pm on a Saturday night, meaning live football will go up against the likes of The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing for the first time. The new deal also means that more than half of the league's 380 games will be shown live. In another big change, all 30 matches in three midweek rounds per season will be broadcast live, as well as all 10 matches on one Bank Holiday round. The current Premier League deal brought in a record £5.136bn when it was agreed in 2015, with the new deal set to dwarf that when the auction takes place in February. No one broadcaster can show more than 148 matches per season, with the current deal shared between Sky and BT Sport. A separate broadcast package will cover free-to-air Premier League highlights.