In the last few years, the Premier League product has become less and less affordable and worthwhile for both casual and dedicated fans

Rising ticket prices, an emphasis on memberships and commercials by clubs, and TV rights packages being shared across multiple networks makes following the beautiful game harder and harder every season.

And we’re no exception. Even after becoming one of the most must-watch teams in the top flights over the past few seasons, much of the Toon army has been priced out of games and the TV viewing experience due to surging prices.

But could that be all about to change?

Bold new broadcast plan coming soon

The Premier League is set to trial a new streaming platform which will give fans access to games without needing Sky, TNT or another broadcaster.

Revealed by Richard Masters at the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit, the platform will be trialed in Singapore and useable from next season, with all 380 league games available to watch.

Speaking at the event, Premier League CEO Masters said:

“For the first time the Premier League is going to have its own customers.

“This is a new app you can download and have on your smart TVs, your laptops, and watch 380 matches and loads of shoulder content, 24/7 channel service and it’s going to be an exciting product.

“We’re also looking to learn, to see how that might be replicated all around the world.”

Dubbed ‘Premier League +’, a successful rollout of the platform would likely see it extended all around the world, potentially including the UK.

What would this mean for Newcastle fans?

Last season, a staggering 25 of our 38 Premier League games were broadcast on TV: only Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Man Utd were covered more.

But you would expect that should Premier League + become available in the UK, it would mean we get access to the other 13 games. With the exception of the occasional domestic cup match being unavailable to watch, a season with European football could see us broadcast and available to watch close to 50 times.

However, this could deal a huge blow to the amount of money we receive in both domestic and TV rights payments: last season, every Premier League club received £29.8m and £59.2m in domestic and international rights deals respectively.

It’s unclear what an all-in-one streaming service would mean for these numbers, but if it threatens any club’s commercial revenue, let’s hope the plan isn’t used by many teams within the league to justify increasing ticket prices, merchandise and membership fees.