Premiership Preview: On the ball
You know what it costs - but here's exactly what Sky's football coverage offers.
Barclays Premiership
Live football will enter a new league in the 2004-05 season. There will be more of it than ever before, giving licensees with Sky a chance to show more games throughout the year.
Following its new three-year deal with the Football Association Sky will be screening 88 matches in its regular Sky Sports package - a third more than last season - plus another 50 pay-per-view games in its new Prem Plus deal.
There will also be a new Saturday night programme called Football First featuring in-depth coverage from the Premiership including a 3pm kick-off match repeated in full and highlights of other games.
It's Prem Plus, though, which despite the much-publicised cost, opens up the most interesting possibilities for sports-led pubs, giving licensees extra opportunities to keep fans in the bar.
Prem Plus offers two live pay-per-view matches either side of the Saturday closed period, with kick-offs at 12.45pm and 5.15pm.
The first confirmed fixtures feature all 20 Premiership teams beginning on August 14 with Tottenham v Liverpool, which features a head-to-head between two newly appointed managers, Tottenham's Jacques Santini and Liverpool's Rafael Benitez.
The regular Sky Sports package kicks off the next day with a double bill of Everton v Arsenal and Chelsea v Manchester United.
By the end of the first week of November every Premiership club will be seen live. All three newly-promoted clubs will be live on screen within the first week of the season.
Sky Sports will also show live Champions League ties from each round including the final stages and final, ties from the first round to the final of the FA Cup, live international football, including World Cup Qualifiers, and 60 matches from the Coca-Cola Football League.
Coca-Cola League
Sponsored by Coca-Cola, the Football League is being relaunched and glammed up for the 2004-05 season. To confuse us all Division One becomes "The Championship", Division Two becomes "League One" and Division Three "League Two" - but we'll probably get used to it.
League football plays an often underestimated role for many community pubs. More people support the 72 League teams than Premiership clubs and last season's games saw the highest attendance figures for 40 years with 16 million fans going through the turnstiles.
That means there's a great opportunity for licensees to bond with regulars by showing support for the local side.
The new names are the first stage of a wider "rebranding" that aims to strengthen perceptions of the Football League and begin to close the financial gulf that now exists between it and the Premiership. Commmunity focus is central to the strategy - "The Football League is about real football for real fans," said the League's chairman Sir Brian Mawhinney.
"In many towns and cities football clubs are the biggest single expression of community and it is our job to ensure that the next generation of football supporters, from Sunderland to Plymouth, grow up identifying with their local clubs."
Coca-Cola will sponsor the competition for the next three seasons and Sky Sports will broadcast 60 matches this season plus the end-of-season play-offs.
The opening day of the season, Saturday August 7, brings two live matches. Leeds United begin their campaign at home against Derby County at 12.15pm and Coventry City boss Peter Reid faces his former club Sunderland at his new home at 5.35pm.
Matches from all three divisions will be shown in the opening month of the season.
Early season live fixtures
Premiership
August
Sunday 15Everton v Arsenal (2pm)Chelsea v Man United (4.05pm)Sunday 22West Brom v Aston Villa (1pm)Arsenal v Middlesbrough (4.05pm)Tuesday 24 Crystal Palace v Chelsea (8pm)Wednesday 25Newcastle v Norwich (8pm)Sunday 29Bolton v Liverpool (4.05pm)Monday 30Portsmouth v Fulham (8pm)
September
Saturday 11Portsmouth v Crystal Palace (5.15pm)Sunday 12Tottenham v Norwich (4.05pm)Monday 13Charlton v Southampton (8pm)Sunday 19 Southampton v Newcastle (2pm)Chelsea v Tottenham (4.05pm)Monday 20Man United v Liverpool (8pm)Sunday 26Portsmouth v Everton (4.05pm)Monday 27Charlton v Blackburn (8pm)
Pay-Per-View
August
Saturday 14Tottenham v Liverpool (12.45pm)Middlesbrough v Newcastle (5.15pm)Saturday 21 Southampton v Blackburn (12.45pm)Saturday 28Blackburn v Man United (12.45pm)Norwich v Arsenal (5.15pm)
September
Saturday 11Aston Villa v Chelsea (12.45pm) Saturday 18Arsenal v Bolton (12.45pm)Saturday 25Middlesbrough v Chelsea (12.45pm)
Coca-Cola League
August
Saturday 7Leeds United v Derby County (12.15pm) Coventry City v Sunderland (5.35pm)Sunday 8Stoke City v Wolverhampton Wanderers (12.15pm)Monday 9Watford v Queen's Park Rangers (7.45pm)Tuesday 10West Ham United v Reading (8pm)Friday 13Cardiff City v Plymouth Argyle (7.45pm)Monday 16Huddersfield Town v Hartlepool United (8pm)Friday 20Preston North End v Sheffield United (7.45pm)Friday 27Gillingham v Queen's Park Rangers (7.45pm)Monday 30Leicester City v Brighton & Hove Albion (12.30pm)Tuesday 31Hull City v Bradford City (7.45 pm)
September
Friday 3Wycombe Wanderers v Oxford United (7.45pm)Sunday 12Ipswich Town v Millwall (1pm)Friday 24Leeds United v Sunderland (7.45 pm)Sunday 26Nottingham Forest v West Ham United (1 pm)
