SKY SPORTS has struck a deal which will allow ITV to show the Carabao Cup final and ten Championship matches a season free-to-air on its channels.
Under the deal – which has been agreed in principle and will come into force from January of next year – ITV will show nine Carabao Cup games a season and ten Championship matches. These games will be matches already on Sky and be simulcast on ITV.
It comes as Sky starts a new EFL TV deal in the new season which will see it screen more than 1,000 matches a season from the EFL’s three divisions on its main channels and new Sky Sports+ service. Fans of EFL clubs have been told their team will feature on Sky at least 20 times a season with Sky and the EFL pledging to announce ALL TV fixtures changes up to the third round of the FA Cup before the season kicks off. Every single Carabao Cup game will also be broadcast by Sky.
The new ITV-Sky agreement means ITV will show:
one Carabao Cup tie from each of the first four rounds.
one additional tie from either the third or fourth round.
two quarter-finals.
one semi-final tie.
the final
ITV will also simulcast 10 games each season from the Championship although they have the option for switching these to League One or League Two games.
With the deal with ITV coming into force midway through the new season in January 2025, ITV’s first match will be a Carabao Cup semi-final. It will mean five Championship games will be shown free-to-air on ITV in the second half of the new season too.
It’s not clear yet whether ITV’s games will be presented by their own teams or whether they will simply re-broadcast Sky’s coverage.
It’s also been confirmed that ITV has extended its deal with the EFL to show regular highlights programmes for the next two seasons.
THE EFL ON TV 2024-25 SEASON
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 the new Sky Sports+ service (Sky Sports+ will be incorporated into all Sky services for sports subscribers- Sky Q, Sky Stream, Sky Glass, Sky’s apps and NOW TV). Sky say Sky Sports+ will be incorporated into Sky Sports subscriptions and will not costs extra
SKY GAMES BREAKDOWN EACH SEASON
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.
TIME SLOTS: Five games will be shown on Saturdays at 12.30pm, regular games on Fridays (8pm) and Sundays (12.30pm) with additional matches on Thursday and Monday nights.
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 also selected will be available via Sky Sports+ rather than iFollow which will 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 on Sky Sports+ 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.
WHEN WILL TV GAMES BE ANNOUNCED?
With so many matches being shown, Sky and the EFL have promised fixture re-arrangements for TV games for the whole of the first half of the season up to the FA Cup third round will be confirmed before the start of the season with the first batch announced within a week of the fixtures being released.
ITV’S LIVE FREE-TO-AIR GAMES – ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT WILL ITV SHOW EACH SEASON?
10 LIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS MATCHES (WHICH WILL ALSO BE ON SKY)
9 CARABAO CUP GAMES A SEASON INCLUDING THE FINAL, ONE SEMI-FINAL AND TWO QUARTER-FINAL (ALL CARABAO CUP GAMES WILL ALSO BE ON SKY).
NOTE: ITV’s agreement with Sky doesn’t start until January so in the first season of the deal it will show just one Carabao Cup semi-final and the final before the deal kicks in proper the following season. Likewise five Championship games will be shown on ITV in the second half of the season. ITV also has the option of switching Championship games for League One or League Two games.
