Broadcasters are set to show Premier League games live at 3pm on Saturdays for the rest of the season – after Uefa removed a ban, reports claim.
The likes of Sky and BT could be able to televise the previously blacked-out weekend matches when the season resumes, possibly in July.
Clubs have always fought hard for the Saturday blackout because they feared it would hit attendances if everyone could just watch at home.
But with matches more than likely to go ahead behind closed doors, there was no bar restricting Uefa from lifting the ban.
Premier League chiefs insist it is only a technical removal of the blackout and are said to remain opposed to breaking it.
As well as the top flight, FA Cup clashes can also be shown on the BBC and BT Sport, say The Times, and games involving the 72 EFL clubs could all be made available on the iFollow service.
The Premier League could lose £750million in TV money if the season is cancelled, but it is still unclear whether this campaign will be concluded one way or another.
Scotland have also seen their ban lifted, meaning the likes of Celtic and Rangers can show their games at 3pm too.
Many fans hope that by July, the coronavirus lockdown will have ended so matches can be seen in pubs, providing a huge boost to that struggling industry.
A Uefa statement read: “Taking into account the current exceptional circumstances, Uefa has lifted the ‘blocked hours’ protection granted to the Uefa Member Associations for England and Scotland for the remainder of the 2019/20 football season, following requests from the relevant National Associations as a result of measures taken in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are pushing to have the Saturday 3pm games TV blackout AXED when the next round of rights are up for grabs in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Premier League has admitted it will only start playing games again when completely safe to do so.
