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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Connor O'Neill

Everton and Liverpool told players could be interviewed mid-game to provide 'additional content'

The Premier League could allow broadcasters to interview players mid-game when football returns.

The idea is to make sure that no broadcast money needs to be repaid by Premier League clubs by giving the television companies something extra for their money.

Matches without fans are believed to be deemed less attractive to viewers at home, so the broadcasters are concerned viewing figures could be down as a result of football returning behind closed doors.

Interviewing substitutes could be a way around that, claim The Telegraph in a new report published on Saturday afternoon.

Only around half of the remaining 92 matches are set to be televised in the UK as it stands, though it is hoped that more games will be screened when football does return.

Broadcasters are likely to demand that Premier League clubs give back nearly £800 million if the season was not to be played to finish.

The report also goes on to claim that the Premier League have told its clubs that they need to provide “additional content” for the broadcasters and have described it as “critical”.

While in the same report, it is claimed that some matches might be screened on terrestrial television, although Sky Sports and BT Sport are both still to agree to the move.

The Premier League is also considering staggering kick-off times with games played at 12pm, 2pm, 4.30pm and 7pm on Sundays and all televised.

These ideas are expected to be presented to the clubs in a meeting which The Telegraph claims will take place May 18.

The Premier League once again reaffirmed their stance that they are aiming to complete the 2019/20 season when it is deemed safe to do so on Friday afternoon.

Senior officials from the game met on Friday to discuss how best to approach the current Covid-19 pandemic.

All professional football in England has been indefinitely suspended since mid-March and it remains unclear at this moment in time when the season will return.

However, clubs are believed to be working towards restarting on June 8, with all remaining matches expected to be played at neutral venues.

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