EFL Agrees Landmark Sky Sports Deal
Author:
Megan Butler
EFL clubs have voted through a record five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports. The deal is worth ￡935 million and will see 1,000 matches broadcast on TV or streamed online each season. The landmark broadcast agreement, set to begin in 2024, puts an end to DAZN’s hopes of buying the rights to every EFL match for its own streaming service.
The landmark TV coverage deal will see more than 1,000 matches broadcast each season.
?Tembela Bohle/Pexels
Record-Breaking Agreement
Sky Sports has secured a landmark broadcast agreement with the EFL worth ￡935 million. The five-year deal will see more than 1,000 matches aired each season, either online or on television. EFL clubs unanimously approved the record domestic rights deal last month.
Football fans can look forward to more matches than ever before with Sky Sports, beginning with the 2024/25 season. The agreement, consisting of the rights to 1,059 EFL games, promises four times as many matches as is currently offered and represents a 50% increase on the value of the current rights agreement.
The arrangement will comprise of guaranteed payments of ￡895 million and ￡40 million in marketing benefits. From next year, viewers will be able to enjoy EFL matches shown exclusively across existing Sky Sports channels. Matches will also be aired live through a Sky Sports streaming destination. This will be accessible on mobile devices as well as on TV sets.
Announcing the exciting deal, Sky Sports outlined exactly how many football matches sports fans could expect to watch each season. Sky Sports will broadcast a minimum of 328 Sky Bet Championship matches, 248 Sky Bet League One matches and 248 Sky Bet League Two matches. In addition to this, all 15 Play-Off matches will be aired alongside all 93 Carabao Cup matches and all 127 EFL Trophy matches.
EFL clubs will benefit from more home-viewers than ever before, as well as enhanced exposure through on-air and digital support. Sky Sports has committed to promoting EFL competitions, clubs and community initiatives. EFL Chief Executive Trevor Birch was delighted to announce the deal, stating:
“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.”
Long-Standing Partnership
Each League weekend fixture will see ten live EFL matches aired. Of these, five matches will be broadcast from the Sky Bet Championship alongside five matches from leagues one and two. The deal also marks the first time ever that fans will be able to watch all matches from the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy.
Offering further details of the agreement, the EFL revealed that all opening, final day and midweek fixtures in the Sky Bet EFL will be aired live, as well as all matches played on Bank Holidays. EFL CEO Trevor Birch described the innovative agreement as combining the strengths of an established brand with a modern streaming service for the benefit of clubs and fans.
Continuing, he described Sky Sports as a fantastic broadcast partner for both the EFL and English football. The broadcaster has long been the go-to destination for sports fans, showing Premier League matches since its launch in 1992. EFL matches have been aired on Sky Sports since 2002.
Despite interest from other broadcasters, the partnership is set to continue for at least another five years. The agreement follows an extensive tender and negotiation process. The EFL is excited at the opportunity to grow its fanbase further. There is considerable interest in the league both at home and internationally. Around 20 million supporters attend Sky Bet EFL matches each season.
Due to the increase in the number of live matches to be scheduled, Sky Sports and the EFL have committed to providing longer notice periods on TV selections for fans. This will include the placement of all live matches chosen for broadcast for the period to FA Cup 3rd Round before the start of the season. These longer notices will allow clubs and fans to plan further in advance. The deal also promises greater parity in the number of times that clubs are selected for TV coverage.
Saturday Blackout Remains
As the agreement will see more EFL matches aired on Sky Sports, it will replace the current Sky Sports EFL red button coverage and the EFL’s domestic streaming option offered through iFollow and club streaming services. Domestic streaming audio services will remain in place, as will existing audio-visual arrangements for international fans via iFollow and club streaming services.
Enhanced production values and more cameras have been promised to take viewers closer to the action. The EFL will raise investment in production infrastructure, while Sky Sports has promised at least eight cameras for each game broadcast on existing channels. For streamed matches, Sky will provide commentary and a minimum of four cameras for Championship and League One matches, and at least two cameras for League two fixtures.
Some fans had hoped that a new broadcasting deal would bring an end to Article 48, which blocks broadcast fixtures from being scheduled between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on Saturday afternoons. The EFL had previously stated that it was willing to consider getting rid of the Saturday blackout, but the agreement allows for this to remain.
Sports streaming platform DAZN had said that it would show every game live, bringing an end to Article 48, if it was granted the broadcast rights. The traditional Saturday blackout is designed to protect lower-league attendances by encouraging fans to attend games in person.
However, DAZN’s hopes were dashed when the league named Sky Sports as its preferred bidder, entering into a month-long negotiating period in April. Sky Sports Managing Director Jonathan Licht described the deal as groundbreaking, both for Sky and its long-standing partners. Licht added:
“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.”
