BT Sport have confirmed that this weekend’s Merseyside derby will not be shown on free-to-air despite calls from the government to do so.
Everton are due to face Liverpool at Goodison Park at 12.30pm on Saturday, with BT set to broadcast the Premier League clash to their subscribers.
But after the Liverpool City Region was placed under the strictest lockdown restrictions in the government's new three-tier scale earlier week, pubs in the area have been forced to close and households are banned from mixing.
However, MPs and other city leaders fear residents could break the rules in order to watch the game at other people's homes because the match is only available to BT subscribers.
Speaking at Wednesday's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing, culture secretary Oliver Dowden claimed it would be "a great gesture" if the game was made available on free-to-air due to the restrictions in place.
He said: “I wouldn't accept the premise that people in Liverpool are going to breach the rules at all, but if BT are able [to make the match free to air] as a gesture, that would be a great thing to do of course.”
However, BT Sport has now hit back at the request and ruled out such an approach, claiming it is difficult to start applying different commercial models to the different local lockdown situations.
“Broadcast revenue is critical to ensuring that football clubs stay financially afloat, and together we help protect the overall football ecosystem," a spokesperson for the broadcaster said
“It's impossible to start applying different commercial models to the many differing and dynamic local lockdown situations.”
While Dowden has also been left less than impressed with the Premier League’s new Pay-Per-View TV model which was confirmed last week.
He said: “I was not massively impressed. These things jar with the idea of coming together in this period of crisis.”
