Don’t Miss The Action
Top-flight English football is already back again and with live broadcast of the 2020/21 season set to be crucial, here’s how online fans can enjoy the best seat in the house.
After an unprecedented short break, the English Premier League has returned. Impacted by the Coronavirus restrictions, this new 2020/21 season will continue within empty stadiums, with fans forced to watch on television.
While only 200 of the 380 total matches were initially scheduled for broadcast, this remains subject to change. The opening month of September had all fixtures added across Sky, BT Sport, Amazon Prime and even the BBC.
This guide we made in collaboration with Broadband Genie, we not only detail the available coverage, but also the broadband recommendations for enjoying it. With streaming the live matches surely to be vital for supporters, are you up for the fight?
Speedy play wins the day
As ever when it comes to streaming video, like football, speed is king. To get the maximum Premier League experience this year, all fans will need home broadband that has enough bandwidth to satisfy demand.
Measured in Mbps, the bandwidth indicates how quickly your connection can “pass” any data to you – and the higher the better. Bigger, faster rates are typically associated with fibre packages and have become the de facto standard for video streaming.
In fact, this is precisely why the likes of Sky and BT tether their TV services to fibre broadband packages. This is upgrade solution numero uno if you don’t want that buffering wheel of doom to start spinning just as your team scores a goal!
Maximising performance
While speed is undeniably paramount, it isn’t the only factor at play. There are of course other key reasons to consider when assessing your connection’s fitness for Premier League perfection.
Considerations such as the number of users likely to be streaming concurrently and indeed the physical setup of your network can be every bit as important to get right. Chances are your installation is primed and raring to go, but here we’ll solve some common issues that could disrupt your football’s flow:
Traffic jams. Every additional user on your network will put additional strain and slowdown on bandwidth and speed – especially if streaming video too!
SOLUTION: Try to limit lots of extra internet activity like downloads during the match and maybe put team rivalry’s aside to watch the action together on one stream, one screen and in glorious HD!
Wi-Fi wobbles. Are you experiencing some wireless dropout there? Maybe it’s a signal issue between your streaming device and the router. SOLUTION: Ideally your streaming device or set-top box is wired via network cable to the router for the most reliable connection. If you are wireless, however, think about relocating the router to a more central position in the house, away from walls or big appliances for better signal coverage.
Interfering forces. Maybe any signal loss is down to external influences! If you live in an apartment block or shared building, the rival Wi-Fi signals could be clashing. SOLUTION: By accessing router settings, the wireless signal frequency can be switched to a channel that will avoid any interference from networks too close for comfort.
Buff’ luck. After all that, you still have unwanted buffering or picture dips and it’s really frustrating for even following the basic flow of the game.
SOLUTION: It’s not ideal, but some streaming apps allow the desired quality or resolution to be dropped down. Maybe pick SD or lower instead of 1080p to at least avoid unnecessary stoppages.
Technical issues aside, it’s time to identify the broadcasters available and what Premier League coverage each offers for the 2020/21 season.
Sky Sports & NOW TV
The established leader, Sky Sports holds the rights to air the largest amount of televised Premier League matches. Until 2022 they can show 128 of the most important games, with more likely added in due course.
Boasting “first pick” fixtures and 14 of the “second pick” ties every weekend, the flagship channel plays host to Super Sunday matches (2-4pm kickoffs), Monday / Friday Night Football and even Saturday teatime (5:30pm) games too.
As an 18-month subscription service, Sky Sports costs an additional £23 per month on a standard SkyTV deal. The package in fact comprises 8 sports channels and access to Sky Go for streamed viewing via the app.
Alternatively, NOW TV offers a contract-free option to watch Sky Sports purely online with daily (£9.99) and monthly passes (£33.99) available.
BT Sport
The BT Sport channel within BT’s TV service is scheduled to broadcast at least 52 Premier League matches this season. These typically include Saturday 12:30pm games, although fans can also look forward to watching all UEFA Champions League also.
Bundled typically with fibre broadband where needed, BT Sport subscriptions start at £15 per month for 2 years. Monthly standalone passes are available for £25 one-off, with premium VIP deals also bundling Sky Sports.
Amazon Prime Video
With at least 22 matches confirmed, Amazon Prime Video is the final premium provider of Premier League 2020/21 action. Live football is included in the standard Prime membership of £7.99 per month or £79 per year.
The broadcaster can boast another two full rounds of festive fixtures this season, with every match commencing across the 15-16th and 28-30th December.
Prime Video can be streamed on all web-enabled devices, with a 30-day free trial available and the ability to cancel anytime.