NEWCASTLE head coach Steve Bruce believes the Premier League risks losing its lustre by showing every game on television, and backs owner Mike Ashley’s call for pay-per-view (PPV) prices to be lowered.

Matches not selected for television broadcast have recently been made available at £14.95 each — with the cost widely panned amid the financial difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Supporters had an unlikely ally in Ashley, who said the controversial experiment in its current guise was “not acceptable” as he suggested a VAT waiver could shrink the cost of individual fixtures to as little as £4.95.

The model is set to be in place until next weekend at least, before a review, and although Bruce agrees with his employer’s assessment, he warned that screening every game on TV takes some of the shine off the Premier League product.

“I agree with him, I think £15 is far too much when people pay their subscriptions to Sky and BT,” Bruce said ahead of Newcastle’s clash against Everton on Sunday afternoon.

“At this particularly difficult time I agree a fiver is enough. But if we’re not careful, we’re going to oversaturate it, too. We’re seeing every game and for me it’s not the spectacle.

“Look, we’re all delighted that we’re all playing some sort of football but it’s not the spectacle, it’s not the same.”