Sky Reportedly Committed to Liverpool Christmas Eve Match

It’s not official yet, and Liverpool are reportedly fighting the proposed move, but far from being just a possibility, a Christmas Eve game appears to be an all but officially done deal with the only thing holding up its being made an officially done deal is resistance from the clubs involved.

So say the Daily Star today, claiming Sky have already decided they wish to go ahead with having Liverpool’s away game against Arsenal kick off at 4PM GMT on December 24th in a move that would be terrible news for the fans in the stadium—the travelling ones especially—but good for ratings.

Or at least potentially so, given the activities of the day could well impact the number of people free to watch the match. Still, Sky’s holiday schedule is built around the idea separating out as many big games as possible is the goal, spreading them across the days and kickoff times.

Playing every game around the same time means choices for the viewer. Separating the games out—as with Monday Night Football or the infinitely regrettable Friday night match that has become a semi-regular Premier League outing of late—means more people to watch each means higher ratings.

And, frankly, when you’ve paid as much as Sky have, it’s hard to be too bothered by any attempts to maximise their return. Unless you’re one of the clubs caught up watching their schedule made more difficult. So. A game on Christmas Eve. It would seem a miracle at this point if it didn’t happen.