Manchester City at the centre of radical new Premier League broadcaster proposals from 2025/26 onwards | OneFootball

Premier League champions Manchester City have been revealed to be at the centre of major changes to the way broadcasters deliver top-flight coverage to global audiences.

The latest pursuit from Manchester City in terms of aiding the global visibility of the game and improving audience experience comes after one report earlier this Autumn revealed that the club’s CEO was at the centre of dialogue with FIFA over the 2025 Club World Cup.

Ferran Soriano is understood to have been working closely with the sport’s global governing body to sell the revamped and expanded tournament hosted in the United States to broadcasters, whilst holding talks over how City themselves can help promote the tournament.

Soriano is understood to have been a positive advocate of the new tournament during a video conference call with potential investors of the tournament, telling a meeting of media executives that the Premier League champions are fully behind the Club World Cup.

And Manchester City’s involvement in delivering football to a global audience of broadcasters through new creative routes has not stopped there, with a new report revealing their involvement in new plans centred around the Premier League.

According to the information of MailSport’s Sami Mokbel, Manchester City have been involved in drawing up the idea of mid-game interviews with substitutes in Premier League matches from next season, alongside Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal.

With all clubs now sent an outline of three initiatives aimed at improving coverage, the report reveals that mid-game interviews would see substituted players ‘positively’ questioned as they come off the field, with no more than two questions based purely on the game.

It is further revealed that the Premier League also want clubs to agree ‘controlled dressing-room filming’ during broadcasts, once again being ‘positive and not looking to catch anybody out’, with blackout and audio control options as an extra layer of protection.

The third and final concept revealed by Mokbel is for half-time interviews with either a player or a coach leaving or returning to the pitch, with broadcasters selecting an individual from a list of five compiled by the club.

It is once again outlined that any half-time interviews should be positive, be no more than three questions, and only reference the match. Clubs have been told that at least twice season they should deliver on one of the three ideas.

The move from Manchester City to aid the growth of the Premier League comes despite a hearing into the clubs 115 charges for alleged breaches of the English top-flight’s financial rules starting last month.

The four-time successive Premier League champions were charged and referred to an independent commission back in February 2023 following a four-year investigation from the top-flight over alleged rule breaks between 2009 and 2018.

In direct response, and in a stance maintained by the club to date, Manchester City strongly deny all charges and have said that their case is supported by a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence”.