England Will Free Live Premier League Broadcast

Derby Manchester (TWitter @premierleague)

JAKARTA - British Minister of Culture Oliver Dowden plans to eliminate live broadcasts of all matches when the Premier League returns from suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Dowden said he had held talks with British sports organizations about resuming the competition.

He told the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports that when the Premier League resumes, the most likely will be matches in closed stadiums to contain the spread of the virus.

But it's also important for people to watch the game live no matter what.

"I have told the Premier League that it is not the best thing if this football as one of the main sports is again played in closed stadiums and the general public cannot have access to it," said Dowden.

He understands that this sport depends on the income they get from broadcasting rights deals. Therefore this sport should be able to have an element of protecting revenue from broadcasts but also looking for ways to increase access.

So far the Premier League is considering this. Television stations Sky, BT and Amazon hold the rights to show Premier League matches live, while only match highlights are available on the BBC for free.

The Premier League has been suspended since last month due to the pandemic and the government is asking local people to stay at home to help prevent the spread of the virus.