Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United players are preparing for a slightly different Premier League season.
While the dust is only just settling on the 2024/25 Premier League season, it is not going to be long until the 2025/26 campaign begins.
Newcastle United’s fixtures have been released, with Eddie Howe’s side facing Aston Villa on the opening day. They will start preparing for that game very soon, with the Newcastle United players set to begin pre-season on 7th July.
That game is set to be live on TNT Sports, with more Premier League games than ever set to be broadcast on television.
Triple change to the 2025/26 Premier League season
That is because this season marks the start of Sky Sports and TNT Sports’ new television rights deal. They are paying more money than ever to broadcast the Premier League, with this four-year deal worth more than £6.7billion.
Due to the amount of money spent, broadcasters are wanting more for their money. That is why, as well as showing more matches, Sky Sports and TNT Sports are going to have even more access when Newcastle United and the other 19 Premier League teams are in action.
According to the Telegraph, broadcasters will be able to interview players after they have been substituted.
The Telegraph add that camera operators will also be allowed to go on the pitch to get closer to goal celebrations, while they can also go inside the dressing room. However, that will not be allowed to do so when a manager is delivering a team talk.
The report adds that interviewing substituted players and dressing room access will be limited to just two home games for every Premier League club.
How Eddie Howe felt about Newcastle United’s behind the scenes documentary
It will be interesting to know what Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe thinks about the changes that he and his team are set to experience.
Howe has dealt with cameras in the dressing room before as part of Amazon Prime’s documentary on the Magpies, and he was happy for them to get a behind the scenes look – as long as it was not over the top.
“I think it would be foolish of me to say ‘no, these cameras aren’t going to follow us around’, then go ‘we need to sign new players’,” he told the Northern Echo in 2023.
“They’ll say ‘we haven’t got the money, we can’t do it because of FFP, and you’ve turned away this opportunity for the club to turn away more income’.
“I’m never going to go against the club in that, I’ll always try and support it. I think the inner working of a football club, it’s delicate. I’m not necessarily one of those managers who will sit here and say I want everything to be open. I think (about) privacy, and when you’re dealing with players, there are certain things that for me should never escape the walls of a training ground.
“But, as I say, I can’t go against the club, and I’ll always support the club in whatever venture they’re trying to do, as long as it doesn’t overstep the mark.”
During that documentary, Amazon got footage of Eddie Howe’s now iconic team talk before a game against Manchester United in April 2023. However, there will be no repeat, as Sky Sports and TNT Sports will be banned from filming when the manager is speaking to his players.
They will not be allowed to ‘overstep the mark’ despite this additional access, so Howe will probably be happy that the changes are not as drastic as they could have been.
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