Scottish football could pave way for 3pm TV blackout to end

The first tentative steps to end the 3pm television blackout in the UK have been taken by Scottish football as it seeks offers for the next broadcast cycle. Games currently cannot be shown live between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on a Saturday The first tentative steps to end the 3pm television blackout have been taken by Scottish football as it seeks offers for the next broadcast cycle. The SPFL has said that it is "flexible about the number of games" that will form part of the new deal, which will kick in from the 2029-30 season. BBC Sport understands this includes the possibility that broadcasters could bid to show all matches live – including those shown on a Saturday afternoon.

The SPFL has created a tender with the greatest flexibility on the basis that the broadcaster does not seek to impose Article 48 of the Uefa Statutes. Article 48 allows leagues to set specific times when matches are banned from being shown live on television. It can only be enforced when 50% of matches in a country's top two divisions are played at the same time. While other parts of Europe have experimented with a blackout, it is now only present in the UK between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on a Saturday. Other leagues now tend to stagger kick-off times so the