Match of the Day on iPlayer: When can you watch the Premier League highlights show on-demand?
The race for the Premier League is underway once more, and we all know what that means. Countless hours spent praying for someone − anyone − to actually challenge Man City this time out. And when the games are over, it’s time to find meaning in every single kick, over on Match of the Day with Gary Lineker and the gang.
As most people are aware, you can live stream Match of the Day on BBC iPlayer, and if you happen to miss the start of the show, Live Restart lets you jump back to the beginning (you can rewind up to two hours).
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But anyone who’s − football gods forbid − ever managed to completely miss the weekly Premier League highlights show knows that it doesn’t just appear on-demand on BBC iPlayer right after it finishes.
As the Beeb explains: “It’s due to the rights agreement we have with the Premier League.”
Instead, the Saturday edition of Match of the Day (usually fronted by Lineker) goes up on iPlayer at midnight on the Sunday evening after it airs − to clarify, that’s the early hours of Monday morning.
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The Mark Chapman-fronted Sunday edition of Match of the Day (MOTD2), meanwhile, is added to BBC iPlayer at midnight on the Monday evening after it airs. That’s the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In winter, when the fixtures pile up, we tend to also get a flurry of special midweek Match of the Day shows. These are subject to the same rules, and appear on-demand on iPlayer at midnight the day after they’re broadcast. So a Wednesday episode would be made available on-demand in the early hours of Friday morning.
What’s more, while the BBC tends to make programmes available on-demand for 30 days iPlayer, Match of the Day is one of a handful of exceptions.
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“Each episode will be available to stream or download until the next episode is broadcast, or for seven days after broadcast, whichever comes first,” the BBC explains, adding: “This is generally due to legal or contractual reasons.”
Match of the Day episodes dealing with competitions other than the FA Premier League may have different availability, the BBC says.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
