These are very different times at Newcastle United and the broadcasters can’t get enough of us.
The revolution is being televised at Newcastle United.
Mike Ashley and Steve Bruce produced the near impossible, making NUFC all but unwatchable, with the TV bosses responding and where previously Newcastle United had always been popular choices no matter how the results were going. The Ashley / Bruce combo saw our club/team increasingly ignored when it came to live TV selections.
Well, not the case any longer…
The first half of this season didn’t really indicate what was to come.
In this season’s games in 2022, eight of seventeen Premier League matches were selected and one of three Carabao Cup games, making it only nine of twenty pre-2023 NUFC matches selected by broadcasters.
Maybe they weren’t convinced that form would be longer lasting, which saw Eddie Howe’s team with the third-best total of points in the final 19 PL games of last (2021/22) season.
Maybe they were saving up their Newcastle United selections to use in 2023…
Anyway, Newcastle United have played 18 matches since the turn of the year and UK broadcasters have selected 16 of them for live coverage.
The 1-0 win over Fulham on 15 January 2023 and the 2-1 victory at Brentford on Saturday 8 April 2023 is the only Newcastle United matches so far, that haven’t been shown live by UK broadcasters in 2023
There are another eight matches remaining and UK broadcasters have already made decisions on seven of them (see below).
Six of those seven will be shown live, with only the Southampton home match not selected.
This means out of 25 Newcastle United matches (all competitions) where a decision has been made either way so far, 22 of the 25 have become live TV matches for UK viewers.
The only one we are now still waiting on for a decision is Chelsea Away.
As things stand, at an absolute minimum, 22 of the 26 Newcastle United matches (all competitions) in this second half of the season in 2023, will have been/be live TV matches.
However, that could well rise to potentially 23 out of 26, when that very final round of PL games is eventually decided on.
In general, whilst matches getting moved for TV is a pain for those who regularly go to games, the other benefits are obvious.
As well as Newcastle United fans who aren’t at the game(s) being able to watch from home or the pub, the financial implications are massive.
As well as the bonus cash directly due to more selections for live TV, you also have the massive extra exposure that increases commercial revenue, the club becoming ever more lucrative to sponsors, etc, the more live games that are selected/shown.
Complete Newcastle United match and live TV schedule so far confirmed up to the end of the season:
Sunday 23 April 2023 – Newcastle v Tottenham (2 pm) Sky Sports
Thursday 27 April 2023 – Everton v Newcastle (7.45 pm) BT Sport
Sunday 30 April 2023 – Newcastle v Southampton (2 pm)
Sunday 7 May 2023 – Newcastle v Arsenal (4.30 pm) Sky Sports
Saturday 13 May 2023 – Leeds v Newcastle (12.30 pm) BT Sport
Thursday 18 May 2023 – Newcastle v Brighton (7.30 pm) Sky Sports
Monday 22 May 2023 – Newcastle v Leicester (8 pm) Sky Sports
Sunday 28 May 2023 – Chelsea v Newcastle (4.30 pm) ***TV decision for the final round of PL matches will be made only days in advance but all those final round matches will stay at that date and time regardless.
