English Football [soccer] League (EFL) clubs have unanimously approved a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935 million ($1.1 billion) over a five-year period.
More than 1,000 matches will be broadcast each season – a record number of games for any club soccer agreement.
Running from the 2024-25 season to the 2028-29 season, the arrangement will be made up of guaranteed payments of £895 million and £40 million in marketing benefits. The new deal represents a 50% increase on the value of the current rights agreement.
A total of 1,059 EFL games will be broadcast exclusively across existing Sky Sports channels or live via a Sky Sports streaming destination available on TV and mobile devices. 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; and all 127 EFL Trophy matches.
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.”
Sky Sports managing director, Jonathan Licht, added: “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.”
