The English Premier League will broadcast on free-to-air television in Jamaica for the first time starting this Saturday.

In a pioneering move, Verticast Media Group, which recently acquired CVM TV, announced the first of its planned programme additions to the CVM TV line-up — Premier League Saturdays.

Premier League Saturdays will feature one Premier League live match every Saturday at 9:00 am for the remainder of the 2022/2023 season, beginning this Saturday with title holders and current second-place team Manchester City, led by Erling Haaland, taking on Brighton & Hove Albion FC. Then on October 29, Leon Bailey’s Aston Villa do battle with Newcastle United.

“Most fans of the Premier League would not know of a time when you could watch a Premier League game on free-to-air TV, until now,” said Carlo Redwood, chief commercial officer of VertiCast Media Group.

“Through our acquisition of CVM TV, our own regional sports channels CSport and other initiatives, our goal is to transform regional and local television.”

Redwood continued: “CVM TV exclusive free-to-air broadcast of the Premier League alongside the exclusive free-to-air broadcast of the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 coupled with the broadcast of both tournaments on CSport on cable television and the CSport app transforms the way viewers in the region will experience the best football in the world.”

VertiCast acquired the exclusive broadcast rights to the Premier League earlier this year and currently broadcasts all matches live through its CSport and CSport2 channels via almost 20 cable operators regionally and via its CSport website and mobile app.

With the addition of Premier League Saturdays and the weekly Premier League Review Show during prime time on Tuesday evenings on CVM TV, Redwood said this will not only improve the programming at the television station but enhance the viewing experience of Premier League fans.

“VertiCast’s vision from inception was to provide fans with a 360-degree experience for viewing sports. The one live match each Saturday morning during Premier League Saturdays plus the weekly wrap-up on Tuesdays on Football GPS will complement the CSport broadcast of the Premier League for fans that subscribe to and access the channels on cable television and the mobile app,” Redwood said.

A first step in enhancing CVM TV’s programming, Redwood reinforced that in the coming weeks CVM TV will announce several additions to its general entertainment line-up, creating an unmatched viewer experience in Jamaica for news, general entertainment, and sports. Upgrading of CVM TV’s distribution has already begun in Manchester, Westmoreland, Hanover, St Ann, Kingston, and St Catherine which will ensure that all of Jamaica can enjoy full access and high-quality broadcast.

“As we work to enhance the platform as a whole, including programming and broadcast quality, I want to make it clear that the aim is to grow the platform into being a strong general entertainment channel with the right mix of quality news, sports, and general entertainment content which includes Premier League Saturdays and the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 to start with.”

Premier League Saturdays will go on break on November 12 to accommodate the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 which is being played in November for the first time and broadcast exclusively on CVM TV. The Premier League on CSport and Premier League Saturdays on CVM TV will resume on Boxing Day.