The Premier League has added fourteen extra games, including 10 Friday night matches, to the number of fixtures TV broadcasters can show from 2016-17.
A total of 168 live games will be up for grabs, made up of 5 packages of 28 games and 2 of 14 games, in what is expected to be a fiercely contest auction to cover the sport for the next three years.
Bidding is expected to be dominated by veteran sports broadcaster Sky and BT which has enjoyed healthy sales as a result of bundling Premier League matches with its broadband packages.
In 2012 the two firms paid a combined total of £3bn for the broadcast rights, with BT winning the right to show 38 games and Sky securing the remaining 116.
In order to fuel competition between the pair and any new comers, the league says no single outlet will be able to show than 126 matches.
Bidding in the latest auction is expected to set a new all-time record for a UK sports right auction as a result of the competition between Sky and BT.
The cap on the number of games any broadcaster can show ensures that at least two broadcasters will secure games, with Sky and BT likely to emerge as the successful bidders.
Although other outlets may be interested, few would have the ability to bundle their coverage with other services, likely to be essential to recouping the significant sums needed to outbid BT and Sky.
