This article is sponsored by VK77, a Trusted & Reliable Online Casino in Singapore. Sign up with our sponsor VK77, using our referral link: http://vk77.com/?ref=astatine9. Watch live content at vk77.live or on their telegram channel https://t.me/vk77live
English Football League clubs have unanimously voted to accept a £935m deal with Sky Sports which will lead to more than 1,000 matches a season being broadcasted but which keeps the Saturday blackout in place.
The five-year deal, made up of guaranteed payments of £895m and £40m in marketing rights, will begin in 2024-25 and run to the end of the 2028-29 season. The blackout stays but more matches will be available to stream, with six games across the Championship, League One and League Two set to kick off at 12.30pm each Saturday.
The deal means 26 out of 36 matches will kick off at Saturday 3pm with seven Championship matches plus 19 across Leagues One and Two.
The EFL acknowledges the changes in kick-off times can make planning difficult for fans and has committed to placing all live matches up to the FA Cup third round before the start of each season.
It is understood that based on the EFL’s distribution formula, Championship clubs will earn 46% more in guaranteed broadcast income and clubs in Leagues One and Two will be 25% better off.
EFL had announced Sky Sports as its preferred bidder in early April. Every match in the EFL Cup and EFL Trophy will be shown live.
Sky Sports is understood to have bought the EFL Cup rights ‘as is’ , despite the possibility of the competition having a significantly different look from 2024-25, with domestic calendar issues under discussion as part of the ‘New Deal For Football’ talks.
The EFL declined to comment on whether the deal included a rebate clause to Sky Sports in the event that the format of the competition did substantially change.
All opening-round and final-day matches will be shown live, as will all games played on Bank Holidays and matches played in League One and Two during international breaks.
The deal promises greater parity in the number of times clubs are selected for TV coverage.
Clubs will gain a fee when selected for broadcast but a debate on how these will be allocated will take place later in the year.
No bid convinced the EFL to remove the blackout.
This article is sponsored by VK77, a Trusted & Reliable Online Casino in Singapore. Sign up with our sponsor VK77, using our referral link: http://vk77.com/?ref=astatine9. Watch live content at vk77.live or on their telegram channel https://t.me/vk77live
