JULES BREACH: Three questions, three answers, all in 42 seconds - inside how the new Premier League half-time interview works

The 2025-26 Premier League season is now well underway, and along with it, some brand-new features have been added to our TV presentations to further enhance the experience for fans.

Introduced for this campaign, broadcasters have been given greater behind-the-scenes access, allowing filming inside the dressing rooms and the ability to do half-time and in-game interviews with players and managers.

If fans were sceptical about these additions before the season started, seeing the half-time interviews actually take place hasn’t done a great deal to change their minds yet. But it’s early days.

All 20 clubs unanimously agreed to these interviews, and knowing the background to how they work might help explain why.

I was the live match reporter for TNT Sports for the Manchester City vs Tottenham game, and we did a half-time interview with Spurs boss Thomas Frank. As well as being a first for the season on the network, it was also a first for me as a reporter.

I had so many questions about how it would work, and as with everything on a matchday at a Premier League ground, it’s meticulously planned. The rules are that each club only has to agree to doing one of the three new features twice during a season.

The host broadcaster has to put in the request for the half-time interview five days in advance, and the club have until 24 hours before a game to agree, and to mutually decide where and at what point during the interval it takes place.

The club then also have the ability to withdraw the access at the time of the interview if their team are losing. It’s also stated in the Premier League handbook that the half-time interviews must be positive and have no more than three questions.

I’ve previously written in FFT about the thrill of conducting post-match interviews, so how does a half-time one compare? The principles are largely the same, but the biggest difference was a greater pressure on the amount of time allowed, as the manager spoke to us just before the second half would kick off.

On the day, Spurs were excellent, leading thanks to Brennan Johnson’s 35th-minute goal, so I knew at that stage it was likely that the interview would go ahead. I began thinking of what I would ask Frank about his team’s first-half performance, and then Joao Palhinha doubled Spurs’ lead just before half-time, so the interview was guaranteed.

The referee blew his whistle, and I went and waited just at the edge of the tunnel with the camera crew, sound operator and floor manager.

Roughly 12 of the 15 minutes had passed when we started to see a few Spurs players walking down the stairs towards the pitch. We knew then that Frank would be imminent. Our TNT broadcast was live and host Lynsey Hipgrave was told it would be seconds until Frank was with me.

I had my earpiece in listening as she was handing over, while watching the Spurs boss walk towards me. Just as I began to speak, he was there in front of the camera so I could start the interview. Everything had to be timed to perfection for it to be seamless. Three questions, three answers, all in 42 seconds. And breathe.

It was quick, direct and to the point, but also insightful. Frank told us he wanted his players to “be brave in phase one” and that “high pressure is key”. Being let in to his interpretation as we headed into the second period was interesting and also provided good discussion points for the commentary team.

Spurs went on to win and you could clearly see on the pitch the importance of the points Frank made during the interview. Half-time has always been a sacred part of the game that viewers have never been privy to, but now fans are getting a further peek behind the curtain of what might have been said in the dressing room, and it’s also an opportune moment to ask interesting tactical questions.