Broadcast News

Bookmark and Share
12/05/2023

EFL Approves Domestic Rights Deal With Sky Sports

News Image
EFL clubs have approved a domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935 million over a five-year period with over 1,000 matches to be broadcast each season.
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.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."
VMI.TV Ltd

Top Related Stories
Click here for the latest broadcast news stories.

23/03/2007
BSkyB Creates London Networked Media Distribution Centre Based On DayPort
Dayport recently secured an order from BSkyB (Sky) to create a Networked Media Distribution Centre – NMDC - to be based at its headquarters in West Lo
03/10/2016
Sky Launches New Virtual Reality App
Sky has launched a new app, Sky Virutal Reality (VR). The app, which is available to download free, features a range of immersive, 360-degree videos f
18/02/2010
Sky Movies Showcase HD Channel
Sky Movies have now announced a number of changes to its channel line-up in a bid to make it easier for viewers to find the movies they want to watch
20/06/2024
Altman Solon Promotes Sports Business Thought Leader
Altman Solon, the largest global strategy consulting firm focused exclusively on the Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) sectors, has prom
03/07/2001
SKY BOX OFFICE TO BROADCAST 40 LIVE MATCHES
SKY BOX Office have announced that they will broadcast 40 live matches from the FA Barclaycard Premiership each season for the next three years. The e
11/11/2019
Sky And BBC Agree New Partnership
Broadcasters Sky and the BBC have agreed a new partnership that will see the companies collaborate across content and technology. The BBC iPlayer app
31/10/2019
Production News : Sky And WarnerMedia Expand Partnership
Sky and WarnerMedia, the home of HBO, Turner and Warner Bros., have expanded their partnership to include new programming and co-production agreements
26/02/2020
Production News : Sky Launches Two New Sports Packages
Sky launches two new sports packages that combine Sky Sports and BT Sport channels for the first time on Sky TV, bringing together major tournaments f
20/07/2001
SKY+ PROVIDES DIGITAL ALTERNATIVE TO VIDEOTAPE
BRITISH SKY Broadcasting (BSkyB) have unveiled Sky+, their new fully integrated Personal Television Recorder and Service (iPTR), and announced that th
11/02/2015
Production News : Sky Wins UK Rights For Live Premier League Matches
Sky has won the UK rights to 126 live Premier League matches a season from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Sky Sports was awarded five packs of live rights. Sky w
18/10/2001
SKY LAUNCH PLAY-ALONG COMPETITION
SKY SPORTS LAUNCH FIRST PLAY-ALONG FOOTBALL COMPETITION AS PART of Sky's expanding interactive service, Sky Sports will launch the world’s first play-
03/02/2011
Sky Sweeps In From Atlantic
This week's launch of Sky Atlantic means a new strategy for Sky as it looks to diversify its customer base and a change in direction for the broadcast
28/06/2001
SKY SPORTS SECURE FORD SPONSORSHIP DEAL
SKY SPORTS have again secured Ford Motor Company as exclusive broadcast sponsors for FA Premier League coverage. The new deal starts with the 2001-2 s
24/04/2002
Irish terrestrial channels join Sky's line-up in Ireland
The four Irish terrestrial channels have now become available to all Sky Digital customers in the Republic of Ireland. RTE 1, Network 2, TV3 and TG4 w
18/06/2001
SKY DIGITAL OFFERS TEXT MESSAGING THROUGH TV
SKY DIGITAL viewers can now take part in the text-messaging revolution that continues to sweep the world. Viewers can send text messages to any UK mob