Rejected petition: Abolish the 3:00 p.m. Saturday football broadcast blackout rule in the UK.
Rejected on
We call on the government to work with the Football Association (FA), the Premier League, and the English Football League (EFL) to permanently lift the broadcasting ban that prevents live football from being televised or streamed between 2:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. on Saturdays.
The 3:00 p.m. blackout rule is an outdated 1960s regulation that no longer suits the digital age.
UK football fans pay high subscription fees yet cannot legally watch many of their team's matches, while the same games are broadcast legally overseas.
The ban drives fans towards illegal streams. Scrapping it would protect consumers, align UK broadcasting with international standards and let clubs offer domestic streaming services.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
Decisions about when to hold and broadcast football matches are a matter for the FA, the Premier League and the Football League, and broadcasters, not the Government or House of Commons.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.