Sky and BT Sport announce football fixtures
Sky Sports
Chelsea kick off their title defence against Swansea on August 8 on Sky Sports. Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool will also be shown on the opening weekend, part of 24 matches in the first two months of the season.
All 20 teams feature by the end of September, and the schedule features 14 matches involving last season’s top four.
Sky Sports is showing 116 Barclays Premier League fixtures in total. 127 matches also feature from the Football League, Capital One Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 qualification, action from Scotland in the SPFL and Scottish Cup, plus more from around the world.
Sky Business Managing Director David Rey said: “What a great start to the season for our pub customers – there is so much to look forward to from the first two months on Sky Sports.
“Two of the opening three weeks of the Premier League season coincide with the final two Ashes weekends. It’s all set to be a busy couple of months for our customers as fans pack Sky Sports pubs to catch all this unmissable sport.”
Global football icon Thierry Henry added: “Starting at Chelsea everyone will be looking at them to see if they can retain their title.
“It’s also important that we tell the whole story of the Premier League – all 20 clubs in the first two months – so we can understand each team. How they start the season will be crucial and Sky Sports will be there to show it.”
SPFL champions Celtic start at home against Ross County on 1 August.
See the full list of fixtures here.
BT Sport
The Barclays Premier League season will begin on BT Sport with Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United taking on Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on 8 August in the first of four United games to be shown in the first month.
The Premier League’s top four clubs feature in six games in the first two months of the season exclusively live.
BT Sport will also show 351 UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League games across four channels.
Both of Manchester United’s UEFA Champions League qualifiers will be broadcast on the new BT Sport Europe channel.
Chelsea will face a stern test taking on Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on 19 September. This will see Petr Cech return to his old stomping ground, and be a re-match of the Community Shield on 2 August, which will be shown on BT Sport 1.
Simon Green, head of BT Sport, said: “Football fans can look forward to a terrifically exciting start to the season on BT Sport in the Barclays Premier League.
“BT Sport will be broadcasting matches featuring last season’s top four six times during the Premier League’s opening stages, and they’ll also be seen exclusively live on BT Sport Europe as the European campaign begins.”
