Premier League clubs will rethink their controversial pay-per-view matches today - and could axe the charge altogether as the country locks down for a second time.
English football's top-tier will hold a shareholders' meeting on Thursday at which clubs will hope to resolve the issue that has become a PR disaster.
The current £14.95 cost of PPV matches, available via BT Sport and Sky Box Office, has sparked a ferocious backlash among fan groups, who have raised thousands of pounds for food banks rather than pay the money to watch the matches.
It is expected that the Premier League will at least agree to cut the cost to £9.95 per match when the 20 club chairmen meet today.
The reduced amount would be consistent with the EFL's iFollow charge to watch games in the Championship, League One and League Two,
Other options to be considered include halving the charge to £7.50 or reverting to offering matches at no extra charge, at least during the new lockdown period, according to The Times.
Matches could be offered as part of existing packages or even as free-to-air games, as occurred in the previous lockdown,
Sportsmail understands fan groups, led by the Football Supporters' Association, would be satisfied with a fair price.
'We need to make sure matches are on the telly but that cannot be a money-making scheme,' Kevin Miles, spokesman for the Football Supporters' Association said previously.
The Premier League's PPV initiative was designed to give supporters access to matches that had not been picked up as part of existing broadcast packages while fans are unable to attend stadiums due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, despite an average of 39,000 people watching each game, marginally above the Premier League's target figure, the scheme came to be seen as greedy and was widely condemned.
The criticism and imposition of a new national lockdown - starting today until December 2 - has forced the Premier League, which deferred a decision on PPV at its meeting in October, to make changes now.
In October, the Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, described the price as 'defensible'.
But ahead of the shareholders' meeting, one club source told The Times: 'It's been a PR disaster — £14.95 was a mistake and now we are going into lockdown again there is a feeling we have to do something to change it,'
The last round of scheduled PPV matches is due to take place this weekend ahead of the international break, which will give the Premier League breathing space to discuss their plans further with broadcasters.
Any changes are expected to take effect after the international break.