Sky Sports showed a glimpse of the future - it's time to scrap the 3pm blackout

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For a football addict, Sunday afternoon felt like every Christmas in one day.

Manchester United kicked us off against Nottingham Forest with a 12.30pm kick-off.

Then Sky presented their multi-view which you could watch all four games - Crystal Palace v Brentford, Everton v Sunderland , Leeds v Brighton and Wolves v Fulham - kicking off at 3pm.

Of course I went multi-view as they flipped between each game for the big moments but all played out at the same time. You had commentary telling you what was happening in all four and Lee Hendrie casting his eye as co-commentator.

Then at 5.30pm, Newcastle v West Ham . This was your usual Premier League Saturday flipped to the Sunday because the FA Cup final took centre stage 24 hours earlier.

But this, with a bit of imagination, is what Saturdays would be like if they removed the 3pm blackout.

And it was brilliant. Sky did it brilliantly. You could watch any of those games individually or take in all of them. Sky are trailing now you can watch all of the games in the run-in. And this was something special. It was fabulous. The coverage was different class.

Here’s the parameters of the Saturday 3pm blackout:

It was introduced in the 1960s to encourage fans to attend lower league games - and it remains in force. The blackout comes into effect when 50 per cent of fixtures in the top two divisions are scheduled to kick off at 15:00.

It affects TV coverage of competitions including the Premier League, Scottish Premiership, English Football League (EFL), Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL), FA Cup and Scottish Cup in the Saturday afternoon window.

Matches from foreign leagues such as La Liga and Serie A also cannot be shown live between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturdays, unless they receive special dispensation.

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That first line is key. The blackout is in place to protect fans going to EFL games. But then the EFL even looked and explored the Saturday 3pm blackout themselves.

By the time of the next TV deal, TV insiders are utterly convinced that every game will be available. Why? Because pirating is so widespread that, to keep the TV deals going up in value, they will have to offer more games.

But it is more than just that. I loved watching those games. But it would stop me from going to a game? Absolutely not. Going to a game - at any level - is a joy which is a totally different thing to watching four games in one go. It was fun but it would not stop me going to a random game.

Would it stop a diehard fan who supports one of those eight teams playing at 3pm going to a game? No more than it would stop a Newcastle, West Ham, Manchester United or Nottingham Forest going to the game.

The TV companies have to apply to UEFA to get the 3pm blackout. But there have been so many crossovers this season that it is almost as if we have forgotten about the rule.

Late running games, play-offs, Scottish games. Honestly, that rule is waiting to be scrapped. Me and a pal who work in TV have become slightly obsessed by it and we message each other whenever there is a “breach.” It is at least once a month.

The Premier League are very sensitive about the blackout and have made it very clear there are no immediate plans. There is also a big document on piracy and the value of the blackout.

Let’s be clear: the EFL probably have most reason to be concerned if it does stop your casual fan going to a League One or League Two game. But will it? I don’t think so.

The bigger issue here is what we are afraid to discuss is the level of piracy. I live right in the heart of North London.

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Every Saturday afternoon I have a little ritual. I have a walk while listening to BBC 5Live and sometimes you only have two 3pm kickoffs. They still make it entertaining. But sometimes it’s pretty thin. So we are talking about something which has been superseded anyway.

Then if I walk, I will pass at least ten shops - barbers, coffee shops, bars, whatever - showing illegal live streams. It is out of control.

And yes, I’ve mentioned it. And no, I don’t own a FireStick - but have friends who do (I’ve told them I don’t agree with it) - but we are living in the clouds if we don’t think piracy is the biggest issue.

Yes, cost comes into it. But the bigger factor in my view is fans want to choose what they want. On Sunday, they had that choice.

Sky did it brilliantly, the coverage was different class and provided a teaser of the future.

Lifting the Saturday 3pm blackout will not be a bad thing. It will be great for live football.

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.