EFL to enter exclusive talks with Sky Sports over upcoming TV rights

Sky Sports has been named preferred bidder for the 2024-25 EFL live television rights.

sports mail revealed last October that the EFL was inviting bids to televise all of its 1,656 matches each season in a bold proposal that would require ending the Saturday 3pm blackout, which has been in place since the 1960s.

That was a proposition streaming service DAZN was particularly interested in, and yet the EFL is now starting month-long ‘exclusive’ talks with Sky Sports, having chosen them over DAZN, Viaplay and BT Sport.

Sky currently hold the rights to EFL matches, but that five-year contract is set to expire at the end of the 2023-24 season.

Under the terms of Sky’s current £119 million a year deal, the broadcaster shows 138 live EFL games each season.

Sky Sports’ current £119m a year deal with the EFL will expire at the end of 2023-24

Two Championship matches are typically broadcast each weekend, leaving fans of League One and League Two clubs without the opportunity to watch a live broadcast, sparking debates in the process of bidding for services like DAZN to show all EFL matches in the Championship, League One and League Two live.

Last season only 20 League 1 matches were broadcast live and only 10 from League 2, so 26 clubs were not on television throughout the campaign.

But in a statement on Monday confirming exclusive talks with Sky Sports over a new TV rights deal, it appears league bosses are prioritizing a renewal over a move to a rival.

sports mail understands that, along with Sky Sports, BT Sport and the Swedish company Viaplay have also submitted offers to the EFL.