| EFL TV Deal on 18:42 - May 5 with 4624 views | daveB |
Good news is they are giving us the games earlier so you will know all the games upto January before the seasons starts.
Bad news it's the end of ifollow and the Nick London/Andy Sinton duo and more games on tv so more games moved
EFL clubs have unanimously approved a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935m over a five-year period with over 1,000 matches to be broadcast each season — a record number of games for any club football agreement.
Running from season 2024/25 to season 2028/29, the arrangement will be made up of guaranteed payments of £895m and £40m in marketing benefits. In total, 1,059 EFL matches are set to be broadcast exclusively across existing Sky Sports channels or live via a Sky Sports streaming destination available on TV and mobile devices.
Q&A: EFL & Sky Sports broadcast rights agreement
Increased value and promotion
The new deal represents a 50% increase on the value of the current rights agreement and will see significantly enhanced exposure for all EFL clubs provided through on-air and digital support from Sky Sports to promote EFL competitions, clubs, and community initiatives.
Each season, Sky Sports will broadcast a minimum of:
328 Sky Bet Championship matches
248 Sky Bet League One matches
248 Sky Bet League Two matches
All 15 Play-Off matches
All 93 Carabao Cup matches
All 127 EFL Trophy matches
Each League weekend fixture round will see 10 live EFL fixtures shown. Five matches will be shown from the Sky Bet Championship and supporters of Sky Bet League One and League Two teams will now benefit from greater coverage than ever before with five of their games being broadcast live. For the first time ever, fans will be also able to watch every match from the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy.
All opening, final day, and midweek fixtures in the Sky Bet EFL will be shown live as will all games played on Bank Holidays including Easter, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day alongside the matches played in Sky Bet League One & Two during international breaks.
Increased notice for fans
With the substantial increase in the number of live matches, Sky Sports and the EFL will introduce a new commitment for clubs and fans which will provide longer notice periods on TV selections. The defined notice periods will enable clubs and fans to plan further in advance and this will include the placement of all live matches selected for broadcast for the period to FA Cup 3rd Round before the start of the season. Greater parity in the number of times that clubs are selected for TV coverage is also guaranteed.
Article 48 to remain
The new deal allows for ‘Article 48’, the blocked broadcast period between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons to remain, meaning that main broadcast fixtures will be scheduled for outside of this time. Final fixture slots will be confirmed at a later date.
Domestic Streaming
From the 2024/25 season onward, this agreement makes more matches available to stream and will effectively replace the current Sky Sports EFL red button coverage and the EFL’s domestic streaming option provided via iFollow and club streaming services. Domestic streaming audio services will remain alongside existing audio-visual arrangements for international audiences via iFollow and club streaming services.
Enhanced production values and camera numbers
The EFL and Sky Sports will continue to work together to innovate, seeking opportunities to improve coverage and take viewers closer to the action, while the EFL will be investing significantly in production infrastructure to enhance the viewing experience. Sky Sports will have a minimum of eight cameras for each game broadcast on existing channels. For matches available to stream, Sky commentary will be provided and a minimum of four cameras will be used at Championship and League One matches, and a minimum of two cameras in League Two.
Commenting, Chief Executive of the EFL, Trevor Birch said:
“After completing an extensive tender and negotiation process, this is a landmark broadcast deal for EFL clubs, establishing the League as a premium partner with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports.
“The EFL is an iconic sports property and one of the biggest and best attended Leagues in European football. This increased investment and coverage from Sky Sports will showcase much more of our compelling match action to fans, while delivering record rights values as we seek to make our clubs sustainable at all levels.
“For decades, Sky Sports has been a fantastic broadcast partner for both the EFL and English football, helping our sport grow through its sustained support, so we are delighted to announce this innovative agreement that combines the strength of an established brand with a modern streaming service for the benefit of EFL clubs, fans and Sky Sports alike.
“With some 20 million attending Sky Bet EFL matches each season and significant interest in the League at home and abroad, we look forward to growing our collective fanbase further and we’d like to thank Sky Sports for its ongoing commitment to the clubs and the communities which this investment will directly support.”
Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht said:
“This is a ground-breaking deal for Sky and our long-standing partners, the EFL. We believe that fans of all 72 league clubs will benefit with increased coverage across all the leagues and competitions. With four times as many matches than we currently offer, we will capture even more of the excitement created by this unique league — and in a way that will be immediately accessible to millions of supporters.
“This is the biggest deal in football, in terms of the number of matches being broadcast and we look forward to working with the EFL and its 72 member clubs to give fans the most entertaining viewing experience.
“Between Sky and the league, we’re pleased to be able to make a commitment to fans that will ensure greater notice periods around the movement of matches for broadcast. There’ll also be greater parity in the number of times clubs are selected to be live on Sky Sports.
“The EFL stands alongside our key rightsholders we have partnered with for the rest of the decade, keeping Sky Sports as the number one destination for sports fans. We thank the EFL clubs and EFL board for their support and look forward to our future together.” |  | |  |
| EFL TV Deal on 18:57 - May 5 with 4535 views | colinallcars |
Four times as many matches and no more QPR+
Well whoop-de-doo.
I didn't think it would be possible to hate Sky more than I currently do.
For sheer bare-faced nerve it would be hard to beat the bit about growing the support by…..moving four times as many games. |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 19:14 - May 5 with 4458 views | terryb |
Cheers Dave for posting the detail, although I did skip through a lot of it! As our resident Sky expert, please do you know the following answer:-
Is my understanding that Sky/EFL will make streaming games available to the public rather than watching through the red button? If so, would this be a free service? |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 19:22 - May 5 with 4418 views | colinallcars |
All the matches against the “ attractive” clubs will be moved.
The only games left on Saturday 3pm will be against teams like, say, Rotherham. No disrespect to teams like Rotherham from me but that's the way the Sky selection “team” will view it. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 19:43 - May 5 with 4341 views | loftboy |
Will the highlights still be on normal tv? |  |
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| EFL TV Deal on 20:20 - May 5 with 4228 views | LazyFan |
| EFL TV Deal on 19:43 - May 5 by loftboy |
Will the highlights still be on normal tv? |
I suspect Sky were wise and took that as well.
You can see from the deal that it's way more money, but Sky is getting way more in return. iFollow is not dead for overseas fans, it seems (and from what Hoos said, that's a lot of revenue and growing). |  |
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| EFL TV Deal on 20:35 - May 5 with 4160 views | swisscottage |
| EFL TV Deal on 20:20 - May 5 by LazyFan |
I suspect Sky were wise and took that as well.
You can see from the deal that it's way more money, but Sky is getting way more in return. iFollow is not dead for overseas fans, it seems (and from what Hoos said, that's a lot of revenue and growing). |
So basically no change for everyone that watches them through a VPN from 'Luxembourg' | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 20:39 - May 5 with 4143 views | Rangersw12 |
Awful news
Only 5 games will be 3 pm on a Sat. By trying to protect the article 48 rubbish they've ruined the 3 pm kick offs | | | |
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| EFL TV Deal on 20:42 - May 5 with 4134 views | E17hoop |
That means one in 3 Championship game will be live. |  |
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| EFL TV Deal on 21:03 - May 5 with 4053 views | BAWHoops |
What will the 5 weekend slots be?
Friday 8:00
Saturday 12:30
Saturday 7:45
Sunday 12:00
Sunday 2:00
Any time they're up against a Premier League game they'll just whack on Leeds or whoever the biggest club down here are.
Will be carnage |  |
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| EFL TV Deal on 21:22 - May 5 with 3977 views | colinallcars |
I'm rather naive in these matters. Do the clubs have any say in this ? Or does the EFL act vicariously ? ( look it up ! ).
Sorry, I've had a few and getting rather angry. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 21:39 - May 5 with 3944 views | SimonD |
| EFL TV Deal on 21:22 - May 5 by colinallcars |
I'm rather naive in these matters. Do the clubs have any say in this ? Or does the EFL act vicariously ? ( look it up ! ).
Sorry, I've had a few and getting rather angry. |
The clubs are the EFL. This was the clubs' choice. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 21:52 - May 5 with 3890 views | colinallcars |
| EFL TV Deal on 21:39 - May 5 by SimonD |
The clubs are the EFL. This was the clubs' choice. |
Yes, I've just ploughed through the whole screed. “Clubs unanimously” accepted the deal.
Well, as they say, you know who your friends are. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:03 - May 5 with 3870 views | Tonto |
Atvleast it's all on one subscription channel. I wouldn't want to be paying more companies money to watch the odd game. |  |
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| EFL TV Deal on 22:16 - May 5 with 3825 views | ManinBlack |
It always seems to me that we lose more than we win when live on Sky. If they show us more often live than I fear our results could get even worse if that is possible. |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:29 - May 5 with 3786 views | colinallcars |
We always used to say we never win on Sky although I think figures improved a bit. Anyone got some stats ?
I wonder how much arm twisting went on for the clubs to “unanimously agree”.
I may feel better in the cold, grey light of dawn, but right about now, I feel like writing to the club to say thanks for letting your loyal fans down, most especially those that have doggedly followed your rabble away from home throughout this season from hell. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:50 - May 5 with 3713 views | daveB |
| EFL TV Deal on 19:14 - May 5 by terryb |
Cheers Dave for posting the detail, although I did skip through a lot of it! As our resident Sky expert, please do you know the following answer:-
Is my understanding that Sky/EFL will make streaming games available to the public rather than watching through the red button? If so, would this be a free service? |
Yes the red button midweek games will now be available to stream, I doubt they will be free
they have been quite vague about that | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:51 - May 5 with 3708 views | daveB |
| EFL TV Deal on 20:20 - May 5 by LazyFan |
I suspect Sky were wise and took that as well.
You can see from the deal that it's way more money, but Sky is getting way more in return. iFollow is not dead for overseas fans, it seems (and from what Hoos said, that's a lot of revenue and growing). |
The highlights have to be on freeview, currently on ITV, not sure when that deal ends think it was for 3 seasons | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 07:50 - May 6 with 3447 views | mikeygunn |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:51 - May 5 by daveB |
The highlights have to be on freeview, currently on ITV, not sure when that deal ends think it was for 3 seasons |
One massive positive that hasn’t been highlighted is the advanced notice. Before we play the first game of the season, all our games will be set in stone till FA Cup 3rd round weekend.
For those red button viewers, having a better service is also a positive.
I understand it’s not all good but it’s also not all bad either. This extra money will be very much welcomed.
Now if they can sort out the red button on the PS5 app…. |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 08:12 - May 6 with 3398 views | TGRRRSSS |
| EFL TV Deal on 20:39 - May 5 by Rangersw12 |
Awful news
Only 5 games will be 3 pm on a Sat. By trying to protect the article 48 rubbish they've ruined the 3 pm kick offs |
I think this is what Norf mentioned a few weeks ago this makes it out of date and irrelevant basically.
But I guess they would say it also factors in lower down the pyramid non league and so on. |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 08:19 - May 6 with 3380 views | stevec |
In the end, it’s this or a massive hike in ticket prices. |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 08:27 - May 6 with 3344 views | gazza1 |
I am not overkeen with all the fixtures that will not be played at 3pm on Saturday but there has been a few blank Saturdays already......I do not go to as many away matches as I used to so it will be good that we will be able to get good TV coverage.
Bottom line is that 'money talks' and the club needs the money so I am positive about sky getting more involved. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 08:32 - May 6 with 3338 views | ozranger |
The cynic in me asks that although we get notice for all games prior to the January FA Cup date, what happens after that? Will we revert to the previous less than four weeks notice?
As to times, my guess is Fri 8pm, Sat 12:30 and 5:30, Sun 12 and Mon 8pm which are the current times they have been showing games.
Finally, how does the extra cash for each club, which I assume they get, going to relate to FFP or P/S accounts? Does that mean for the 24/25 season when this begins and when we get the new money our accounts will balance much better? |  | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 09:35 - May 6 with 3247 views | terryb |
| EFL TV Deal on 20:39 - May 5 by Rangersw12 |
Awful news
Only 5 games will be 3 pm on a Sat. By trying to protect the article 48 rubbish they've ruined the 3 pm kick offs |
It makes no difference to the point that you're making, but it will be 7 games at 3.00pm on a Saturday. | | | |
| EFL TV Deal on 09:39 - May 6 with 3243 views | terryb |
| EFL TV Deal on 22:50 - May 5 by daveB |
Yes the red button midweek games will now be available to stream, I doubt they will be free
they have been quite vague about that |
Thanks Dave.
As a Sky subscriber, the red button games are currently "free to watch" for me. I would like to think that they won't be expecting their customers to pay extra for the streams!
Perhaps subscribers will receive a code where they can gain access? | | | |
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