Premier League fixtures: The new TV deal starting this season and what it means for Sunderland fans

Sunderland's Premier League fixtures were released this morning, confirming that the Black Cats will begin the campaign at the Stadium of Light against West Ham United.

The game has been confirmed for a 3pm kick off on Saturday, August 16th - with Liverpool and Bournemouth officially getting the campaign started the night before. A trip to Burnley and the visit of Brentford to the Stadium of Light concluded Sunderland’s first month back in the top tier.

The new season will see a new Premier League TV deal come into force, lifting the number of games that will be broadcast live. Here, we outline everything Sunderland fans need to know about watching the club next season....

So what are the key headlines from the new deal?

In short, more live matches than ever before but in fewer places.

From the beginning of the new campaign, every single game that takes place outside of the protected Saturday 3pm slot will be broadcast live. The big winners are Sky Sports, who will show more games than ever before and have snapped up the vast majority of the packages on sale. The only other broadcaster to win live games in the UK was TNT Sports (formerly BT). It means that unlike in recent seasons, there'll be no games on Amazon. Sky Sports have said that there will be an increase on their channels from 128 live games to at least 215.

Financially, the deal is touted to only be worth around 4% more than the previous deal, but it does mean that a place in the Premier League remains spectacularly lucrative to clubs. It's why when considering two years of parachute payments even if you do get relegated back to the Championship, Sunderland's win over Sheffield United is likely worth a minimum of £200 million to the club.

So how does that break down?

TNT will primarily broadcast games in the Saturday 12.30pm slot, as has mostly been the case in recent seasons. They also have the exclusive rights to broadcast all fixtures in the fourth and fifth midweek rounds of the season. Each club will have a minimum of one game selected for this slot, and a maximum of six.

Sky Sports have won the rights to the other slots, including their flagship Super Sunday fixture at 4.30pm. They also have the rights to broadcast games on Saturday evenings (5.30pm KO), Friday nights and Monday nights. For the first time, they will also in certain gameweeks broadcast a number of live games at once in a 2pm slot on Sunday afternoons - indeed the spike in live games this season is predominantly due to this ability to show games moved because of club’s European commitments in midweek. Additionally, they have the right to broadcast three sets of midweek fixtures in full, though exactly how they intend to do that is not yet clear.

A couple of other things to note, too. Most festive games will now be back on Sky Sports and they will also broadcast all ten games on the final day of the campaign at the same time. While there are currently no Premier League fixtures scheduled for Boxing Day, the Premier League have advised that some games will be moved from December 27th to Boxing Day for TV coverage.

How much notice can Sunderland fans expect of changes for TV picks?

This is a very thorny issue and in truth one without a clear answer. While the EFL's new deal with Sky Sports which came into force last season represented a significant step forward, ensuring all televised fixtures before the festive period were confirmed ahead of the campaign beginning, there is no such arrangement in place at the top level. Ahead of last season the Premier League pledged to give advance notice of changes to kick off times for TV coverage, and are generally announced five to six weeks ahead of time. This has not always been the case, however.

The Premier League have again outlined their aim to give six weeks notice for games in the first part of the season and five thereafter, but have also warned that there will be added disruption this campaign due to nine teams taking part in European competition.

So what are the key differences Sunderland fans can expect next season compared to recent years?

In short, more disruption. Significantly more fixtures on Sunday, with the Saturday 3pm slot becoming increasingly rare. In terms of TV viewing, the new deal means the viewing options will be broadly similar to last season in the EFL, with all non-Saturday 3pm games available either through Sky Sports or TNT. And though as explained the exact details are yet to be confirmed, midweek games will also be able to view through those channels.

What about Match of The Day?

When announcing the new deal back in 2023, the Premier League confirmed that BBC Sport had extended its partnership: "BBC Sport has been awarded highlights rights for all 380 Premier League matches each season, with additional digital rights for the BBC’s online platforms. The agreement will see BBC Match of the Day continue to bring Premier League action to millions of viewers each week, alongside a full range of additional programming."

That means that Match of the Day and Match of the Day 2 will continue and be available to Sunderland fans on BBC TV and BBC IPlayer (usually shortly after midnight on the day of broadcast).

There will be some changes next season, though, with Gary Lineker no longer hosting the show. Instead, the responsibilities will be shared by Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan.

Sunderland's 2025/26 Premier League fixture list

August

16 – West Ham United (H)

23 – Burnley (A)

30 – Brentford (H)

September

13 – Crystal Palace (A)

20 – Aston Villa (H)

27 – Nottingham Forest (A)

October

4 – Manchester United (A)

18 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (H)

25 – Chelsea (A)

November

1 – Everton (H)

8 – Arsenal (H)

22 – Fulham (A)

29 – A.F.C. Bournemouth (H)

December

3 – Liverpool (A)

6 – Manchester City (A)

13 – Newcastle United (H)

20 – Brighton & Hove Albion (A)

27 – Leeds United (H)

30 – Manchester City (H)

January

3 – Tottenham Hotspur (A)

7 – Brentford (A)

17 – Crystal Palace (H)

24 – West Ham United (A)

31 – Burnley (H)

February

7 – Arsenal (A)

11 – Liverpool (H)

21 – Fulham (H)

28 – A.F.C. Bournemouth (A)

March

4 – Leeds United (A)

14 – Brighton & Hove Albion (H)

21 – Newcastle United (A)

April

11 – Tottenham Hotspur (H)

18 – Aston Villa (A)

25 – Nottingham Forest (H)

May

2 – Wolverhampton Wanderers (A)

9 – Manchester United (H)

17 – Everton (A)

24 – Chelsea (H)

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