Does anyone know why the lunch time kickoff game is only an occasional happening? I would think the rights holders would insist on having one every week. I really miss them because I can't roll out of bed at 6:30 central and start watching football. (Well I can watch a Championship or Russian match, but it's not in HD.) I know there was some speculation that officials prefer them for derbys so as to limit pre-game drinking.
That's not speculation. Most of the time a lunch time kickoff is a derby and it is to stop fans drinking for 3 hours before the game.
Interestingly, I heard this week that the NFL prefers that Giant-Eagle games kick off at 1 to limit drinking. Its one of the few big rivalries in easy driving distance. Plus Eagle fans have bad reputations. In my neck of the woods, bad reputation LSU always kicks off at 7 pm unless tv dictates otherwise. When tv moves a big game to morning or afternoon, they get mad.
Interestingly, I heard this week that the NFL prefers that Giant-Eagle games kick off at 1 to limit drinking. Its one of the few big rivalries in easy driving distance. Plus Eagle fans have bad reputations. In my neck of the woods, bad reputation LSU always kicks off at 7 pm unless tv dictates otherwise. When tv moves a big game to morning or afternoon, they get mad.
The EPL "lunch time" kickoffs became a weekly occurence 2 TV contract cycles ago because Rupert Murdoch's men dropped bags of money in front of FAPL officials in order to have a match airing on ESPN in Asia (ex-Japan) during Saturday evening prime time every week. (NewsCorp is the managing partner of Singapore-based pan-Asian sports TV outfit ESPN STAR Sports, or ESS. NewsCorp forced Disney/ESPN personnel out of ESS in 1997, less than two years after the ESS partnership was formed.) ESS no longer has as big an influence on FAPL because government-owned TV outfits in Singapore, Thailand, and most importantly Mainland China (in addition to Hong Kong) decided to "out-Murdoch" Rupert Murdoch by blowing ESS out of the water with big bids during the last TV contract cycle. The EPL TV contracts now limit Saturday "lunch time" kickoffs to at most 23 out of 38 match weeks.
So it was for chinese prime time. I should have guessed. But who wants it limited to 23 games? Is it out of deference to lower league teams so as to not hurt their attendance? Wouldn't sky want to show a game in england every lunch time?
There are several factors at play in regards to scheduling the lunchtime kickoff. It certainly isn't all about the Chinese market. You will find most weekends right after a european cup week to not have an early Saturday kickoff. This season, Everton and Fulham matches are pushed back to Sunday due to their involvement in the Europa League on Thursdays. This leaves more games on Sunday and the schedule is adjusted accordingly. So its a combination of derbies, TV contracts, previous and next week european schedules that will dictate the number of lunchtime kickoffs. SA
Sky usually do if they are not showing a Premier league game they are showing a game from the Championship or possibly SPL I don't think there would be very many weeks where Sky would not be showing a game at all in this timeslot
The other posters basically nailed it. Sky Sports has to fulfill its game quotas with the SPL and Championship, but since they now almost always have a Sunday EPL doubleheader (they occasionally do carry a Championship or SPL game in the early window), that leaves some of the Saturday windows (plus the regular Saturday night slot) for non-EPL action. Plus, high-risk derbies can still be played early on Sunday unless either team is playing in the Champions League on the following Tuesday, and they remain in Chinese prime-time.
The same goes for the Monday night game between SPL, EPL and the Championship there is nearly always a televised game and there is often two. Also when the top leagues are forced to break for international commitments then Sky usually will shows a League One or Two game so there is always domestic football on Sky