SKY SPORTS has sealed a massive new exclusive TV deal with the EFL which will see an extraordinary 1,059 matches screened live each season – either on the main Sky channels or streamed.
Five games from the Championship and a further five from Leagues One and Two will be screened live every weekend – and EVERY single Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy match will be available for the first time.
Although the 3pm blackout on Saturdays will continue for games not selected, a number of matches will be shown on a new Sky streaming service available via TVs and mobile devices. Unlike the current red button service they will no longer have just one camera angle.
Under the five-year deal, clubs will no longer offer TV streams through iFollow with Sky now taking over all domestic TV streaming.
Due to the high number of live games being screened, Sky and the EFL have pledged to give a longer notice period to fans when fixtures are moved for live TV screening. They insist that all games moved for TV selections up to the FA Cup third round weekend, will be announced and confirmed before the start of the season. There will then be a defined period for TV picks for the rest of the season.
They’ve also promised there will be a fairer share of games for each club shown live with Championship sides likely to be shown live around 23 times a season and League One/Two clubs around 16 times per season.
Sky and the EFL say the deal is worth a record-breaking £935million and will run from 2024/25 to 2028/29.
It’s the most games ever shown in UK TV history. The EFL confirmed they received “multiple bids from various parties that proposed a variety of different broadcast options, but that the Sky proposals offered the best deal on a number of criteria.
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SKY SPORTS MASSIVE NEW TV DEAL – ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT WILL BE SHOWN?
1,059 EFL matches EVERY season shown LIVE across main Sky Sports channels or via a Sky streaming service on TV and mobile devices.
This breaks down as a minimum each season of
328 Championship matches
248 League One matches
248 League Two matches
ALL 15 play-off games
ALL 93 Carabao Cup games
ALL 127 EFL Trophy games
EACH WEEKEND 10 LIVE EFL fixtures will be shown, five from the Championship, five from Leagues One and Two
EVERY opening day match will be shown.
EVERY final day game will be shown.
EVERY midweek game will be shown.
EVERY bank holiday game will be shown (including Easter, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day.
EVERY League One & League Two game will be shown during international breaks.
SATURDAYS 3PM
Those matches not selected for broadcast which kick-off in the Saturday 3pm slot will not be shown. Broadcast games will be shown out of this time with the final kick-off times and days to be confirmed at a later date.
The EFL says there will be seven 3pm Championship games each regular Saturday and 19 League One/Two games combined at 3pm on Saturdays.
STREAMING
Those matches not on the main Sky channels, but made selected to stream will be available via Sky rather than iFollow through a new service available on TV and mobile devices which replaces the current Sky red button and EFL iFollow service,
iFollow will still provide audio commentary and streaming to international viewers.
MATCH COVERAGE
Sky and the EFL have committed to providing greater coverage in terms of the number of cameras at games, particularly those being streamed.
Games shown live on the main Sky channels will have a minimum of eight cameras.
Games being streamed rather than on the main Sky channels will have a minimum of four cameras for Championship and League One games and two cameras for League Two matches.
The new arrangements will not come into force until the season after next running from 2024-25 through to 2028/29.
TV highlights from the Championship, Leagues One and Two and other EFL competitions are to moving from Quest to ITV from the new season.
ITV have agreed a two-season deal for the highlights rights and are promising to show them at 9pm on ITV 4 every Saturday (the same slot used by Quest) with repeats on the main ITV channel later that night and on Sunday mornings.
The rights also cover the Carabao Cup and Papa John’s Trophy.
ITV haven’t confirmed who will be presenting their coverage or who will be in their line-up of pundits, but the Mirror’s John Cross has reported that TV and radio host Hugh Woozencroft is being lined up to anchor the shows – see HERE.
While Quest’s coverage has been praised, ITV’s bigger reach is likely to give the EFL competitions a much larger audience.
ITV’S DEAL FOR EFL HIGHLIGHTS IN FULL
– Championship, League One and League Two highlights programme at 9pm on Saturday nights on ITV 4 with a repeat on the main ITV channel later in the evening and again on Sunday mornings.
– Midweek highlights when full fixture round takes place on ITV.
– Extensive coverage of the play-off semi-finals and finals.
– Highlights shows from each round of the Carabao Cup and the semi-finals and final.
– A one-hour highlights show on ITV 4 from the Papa John’s Trophy Final.
– all shows will also be available on the ITV Hub to stream for 30 days following first transmission.
