They may wait for the UEFA draws to be done ?

Talksport have put up another weeks commentaries

Lei v Che Sat 530
Not Eve v Man C Sun 130

So can Eve v Man C be package G ??

So as I suggested when the December picks were announced, Sky couldn't have Leicester v Everton on Boxing Day - they were maxed out of Everton (Southampton (a) in Week 13 and Man City (h) in Week 21).

Now, I think it's safe to assume that Sky did use a first pick in Package D in Week 21 to secure Man Utd v Liverpool. And as Leicester v Chelsea is on TalkSPORT, that would mean that it is a Package B game. So I think it's clear that Sky passed third pick in Package E, the question is, did BT take third pick in Package B or did they pass third pick back to Sky and then got Leicester v Chelsea as a fifth pick in Package B?

BT definitely could not take Everton v Man City otherwise they'd have maxed out on the latter in Package B. Taking Leicester v Chelsea takes BT to four for Chelsea. Personally, I wouldn't have done that, and I definitely wouldn't have wasted a third pick to do it. I'd have passed it back to Sky, and should they take Leicester v Chelsea as a fourth pick in Package C, I'd have taken Burnley v Southampton as a fifth pick to fill their min quotas.

So I think that Leicester v Chelsea is a fifth pick in Package B. Only time will tell if that turns out to be a good pick or not.

The other thing to note is that Week 21 joins Week 9 as a week without a fourth pick being used. In both cases it would appear to be a fourth pick in Package C that has been deferred. So here's what Sky and BT have left if the Radio coverage does indicate the Package F and G games:

Sky:

Package A: 14 games - four first picks, six second picks and four fifth picks

Package C: 14 games - seven second picks, four fourth picks and three fifth picks

Package D: 11 games - seven first picks and four fourth picks

Package E: 14 games - six third picks and eight fourth picks

Package G: 2 games - two third picks (Chelsea and Liverpool not maxed out)

* Note: Sky have 16 fourth picks to use. So two of these will have to be chosen after all the other picks have been made including BT fifth picks.

BT:

Package B: 11 games - three first picks, six third picks and two fifth picks

Package F: 1 game - one second pick

So Sky only have thirteen games in Packages D and G. Assuming Sky use a first pick from Package D on the last day of the season, that means there will be one Sunday without a game that is designated 16:00/16:30 slot. So we should be on the look out for a Sunday 16:00 game that's on TalkSPORT (i.e. a Package C game).

With apologies for this not being a Premiership tie but I didn't want to to start a whole thread (and looking through the first three pages I couldn't find a better one) - Barcelona v Real Madrid kicks off 3.15 on Saturday 3rd December where there is a blackout in the UK. Does anyone know how Sky will get round this?

Will they show it as live after 5pm?

Probably. I bet Sky are not happy about that kick off time.

It is scheduled to be shown as live from 5.15pm on the day on Sky Sports 3.

I fully agree with the blackout but I believe Sky/BT should be given some leeway. Maybe on foreign football only.
A pay per view option perhaps?
People who are interested in a game like this should be able to watch them legitamitely

Why is it kicking off at such a weird time anyway?

Isn't it to be prime evening TV in Asia. If you asked the Spanish they would want 10pm CET so 9pm in UK.

would that be the League cup final weekend?

Not if Sky want the Manchester Derby. They'll have to use a first pick in Package D to get that.

Perhaps Sky could go without a Sunday 16:00 game on the weekend of the FA Cup semi finals when it looks more and more like BT will have first pick.

Looking at the first pick situation, here are the weeks that Sky might pass from Package D:

24. Chelsea v Arsenal - BT
25. Liverpool v Spurs - BT
27. Liverpool v Arsenal - Sky
28. Arsenal v Leicester - Sky
30. Arsenal v Man City/Liverpool v Everton - BT take Merseyside Derby
32. Sunderland v Man Utd - Sky
34. Burnley v Man Utd - Sky

I wonder, however, if BT have been a bit clever here. It looks odd that BT have got to four picks on Arsenal and Chelsea, but will Sky pass Week 24? Sky are showing Spurs v Chelsea on January 4 and if they pass Chelsea v Arsenal on 4/5 February, their next opportunity to show a big Chelsea game is away to Man Utd on 15/16 April. So will Sky be willing to go that long without a big Chelsea game?

Sky are almost maxed out on Chelsea in the 4pm Sunday slot I think ??

Yep I'd agree with that, have always supported the blackout but there's been loopholes in it over the years anyway - there was a spell (late 1990s to mid 2000s) when England played a lot of qualifiers at 3pm on a Saturday and were shown live, meaning lower division clubs faced clashing with it or having to move their match to another point over the weekend.

The blackout has never applied to International matches.

Explain why you support the blackout but then say a match should be allowed if people want to watch it?

The whole point of the blackout is because people might want to watch the match on TV instead of physically going to a match

Yes, if the radio rule is correct, then Sky are maxed out of Chelsea in Package D. Of course, that doesn't stop Sky from taking first pick and getting Chelsea v Arsenal as a second pick in Package A or C, or even as a third pick in Package E.

Whether the fact that Sky can't put it in the Sunday 16:00 slot means that they are less likely to use a Package D first pick is another matter. Both teams are playing on the previous Tuesday so maybe Sky could schedule it for the Friday night.

Unless Middlesbrough v Chelsea was a package G game and not D??

Suggested week 12

Man Utd v Ars A1
Tot v Whm F2
Mid v Chelsea G3
West Brom v Burn E4

Unless we're wrong about the process, Boro v Chelsea is a first pick in Package D - I can't believe BT passed up the opportunity to show Man Utd v Arsenal.

The two Chelsea games that are possible Package Gs are Southampton (a) and Hull (h). I still think Southampton v Everton is a Package G game which would rule out Southampton v Chelsea, and Chelsea v Hull looks like it's been picked to fill the Hull quota. So we should be on the look out for another Hull game in the Sunday 16:00 slot.

Are we assuming that it has to be
D 1 (if Sky select)

then

B 1 (if BT Select)

then A 1

For first picks then ??

Could it not be D then A then B ??

I suppose D then A then B does not give BT a choice !!!

If it was D --> A --> B I rather doubt that Sky would have given up all of these games:

6. Arsenal v Chelsea
11. Arsenal v Tottenham
13. Chelsea v Tottenham
19. Liverpool v Man City
22. Man City v Tottenham

So for a 1230 game to be first pick

Sky have to pass the 1600
And BT have to pass the 1730 as well ??

That's right Judio. So instead of having 13 weekend first picks as they had in 2013-16, they now have a nine first picks from a choice of 15 weekends.

What I hadn't anticipated was the possibility of BT using a first and third pick from Package B in the same weekend as appears to have been the case in Week 11. I had assumed that when BT use a first pick in Package B, then Sky could bypass Package B in terms of third picks and go straight from Package E to Package G. So I thought Sky would be able to plot their way through the season to get their fill of the big teams in Package G. If, however, Sky have to offer third pick to BT every time they pass it in Package E, that's a bit of a pain.

Watford vs Stoke and Chelsea vs WBA are 5Live games despite being in the TS time slot. Might help