What do football fans think of the 3pm blackout in 2025?

57% of fans oppose the Saturday blackout, up on 52% from 2023. Matchgoing fans are more likely to support it, but are evenly split (47% vs. 45%).

Reports from The Athletic indicate that the Premier League has been given an exemption from the Saturday 3pm blackout on 27 December 2025 and January 3 2026.

While the league reportedly won’t be taking up the option and will be observing the blackout through the festive period, it raises questions about what fans think of the broadcasting ban.

So what do supporters make of the 3pm blackout?

When we last polled this issue in 2023, a quarter of football followers were in favour of the blackout; in 2025, a similar proportion feel the same (26%). But levels of opposition to the blackout have risen from 52% to 57% over this time period. The gains in opposition can be largely attributed to a decrease in the proportion of fans who have no opinion either way.

Matchgoing football fans are more split on the issue. Some 45% also oppose the blackout, but a similar proportion are in favour (46%). Are there matchgoing fans who might prefer to stay at home if games were available to watch on live tv? Some 84% say they would be interested in watching 3pm kickoffs on live TV; 77% of football fans in general say the same. More than a third of football fans say they try to find ways to watch Saturday 3pm kickoffs online (36%) – up a little from our 2023 data (32%).

Would the end of the blackout adversely affect match attendance? Our data shows that a fifth of fans overall say they’re more likely to attend a match in person due to the blackout, rising to 42% of matchgoing fans and 21% of fans who watch matches on television.

But when we ask fans directly about the effect of ending the blackout, fans are split: 25% think it would positively impact stadiumgoing, but 22% say it would be negative. Some 46% say it would have no impact either way. Among matchgoing fans, however, 36% say it would be positive and 25% negative, while 37% say it would have no impact either way.

Our data also shows that a fifth of fans overall say they’re more likely to attend a match in person due to the blackout, rising to 42% of matchgoing fans and 21% of fans who watch matches on television.

Methodology

YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. This study was conducted online on 8-9 October 2025, with a nationally representative sample of 813 adults, taken from a nationally representative sample of 2020 adults (aged 18+ years) in Great Britain, using a questionnaire designed by YouGov. Data figures have been weighted by age, gender, education, region and social grade to be representative of all adults in Great Britain (18 years or older) and reflect the latest ONS population estimates.