Football will return to Russia on June 19 after a three-month hiatus when the first matches of the 23rd season of the Tinkoff Russian Premier League are held. Since there are restrictions in place to protect the health of spectators during a pandemic (no more than 10% of tribune seats can be occupied), the Russian Premier League, Match TV and the League clubs decided to show the season’s matches on the federal channel to give more football fans the sense of being present.
As all the other European football leagues, the current season of the Russian Premier League is different. Among these differences is the lengthy hiatus that was required by the challenging epidemiological situation.
While the Russian Premier League has been resumed, significant restrictions remain in many of Russia’s regions, as recommended by the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor). As a result, many fans will not have the opportunity to get inside stadiums or sport bars to support their favourite team.
The Russian Premier League, Match TV and the League clubs decided to make an exception to the rules in order to be closer to football fans during this difficult time. As such, they will show most matches of the current season’s eight remaining rounds on the federal channel.
The business strategy that was previously agreed on by the Russian Premier League, its clubs and Match TV will not be breached. In addition to the federal channel Match TV, the matches will be shown live on Match Premier. Subscribers to Match Premier will get a unique content offer. The premium channel will show matches with the maximum informational coverage. The programs Zhurnal Tinkoff RPL (Tinkoff Magazine Russian Premier League) and long-form discussions with players and coaches, Ekskluzivnoe Interview (Exclusive Interview), will come out before each round, while at the end of the rounds the channel will air the program Vosem Luchshih (Eight Best) about eight heroes from the matches.
The decision to show most of the matches on the federal channel applies only to the remaining rounds of the 2019-20 season.
As before, the matches of the new, 2020-2021 Russian Premier League season, which starts in August 2020, will be broadcast on Match Premier.