The UK House of Commons has voted 340 to 86 against a Liberal Democrat amendment that would have required at least 10 Premier League matches per season to be shown on free-to-air television. Party culture spokesperson Max Wilkinson argued that fans pay about £660 a year in subscription fees and highlighted sliding viewing figures—Sky Sports audiences fell 10% last season and TNT Sports 17%—to press the case for broader access. While opposing the amendment, MPs later backed the wider Football Governance Bill by 415 to 98, clearing the measure at third reading and sending it to the House of Lords. The legislation creates an Independent Football Regulator empowered to issue operating licences and intervene on club finances, ownership and fan engagement across England’s top five divisions. Ministers said mandating free broadcasts risked eroding the multibillion-pound rights income that funds the football pyramid, whereas the new regulator is intended to safeguard clubs’ long-term stability following the collapse of Bury FC and the failed European Super League project. The bill must still pass the upper chamber and secure royal assent before becoming law.