Virgin Media proposes screening every Premier League match live

The prospect of every Premier League match being screened live but with “regional blackouts” has been raised by the head of Virgin Media, the company at the centre of a UK competition complaint against the league.

Virgin Media’s chief executive, Tom Mockridge, has proposed a system where for example viewers in the Manchester area could not watch Saturday 3pm live home games involving the city’s clubs.

The broadcasting regulator Ofcom is investigating a complaint by Virgin Media which claims the way the English Premier League sells its rights breaches competition law, though it may be another year before the outcome is known.