Major £15m EFL deal to impact Portsmouth with games shown for free

ITV is allegedly in talks with Sky Sports over a £15 million contract that would allow

the free-to-air broadcaster to show up to 20 Carabao Cup and Championship games,

which is great news for Pompey fans hoping to see all of the Blues’ EFL action next season.

Following Sky’s five-year contract with the EFL to carry all of its fixtures outside of the Saturday 3pm blackout,

which amounts to roughly 1,000 matches every season,

terrestrial broadcasters were reportedly approached regarding a sub-licensing agreement.

Sky’s record £935 million deal goes into effect at the start of the 2024/25 season,

and selected matches will be available on Sky’s linear channels, while all other games,

including any scheduled outside the Saturday 3pm slot and the EFL Cup ties,

will be available on the new Sky Sports+ streaming offering.

According to the I daily, Sky has been eager to increase exposure for EFL clubs and its own broadcast package,

but is hoping to generate more income to help cover the cost of the £935 million arrangement.

Sky apparently had preliminary discussions with other public service broadcasters, including Channel 4 and Channel 5,

but it was ITV who made the most appealing deal.

There is also the extra bonus of ITV being the EFL’s free-to-air highlights partner.

The last time fans could watch EFL matches on FTA platforms was when Pompey were in the Championship,

when Sky and BBC oversaw a successful joint bid for the rights from 2009 to 2012.

The BBC showed eleven games a season from the second-tier on an exclusive basis,

alongside a highlights how, and EFL Cup semi-final and the final.

Twelve years later, Sky is said to be extremely transparent about the nature of the arrangement,

which may see ITV get first choice of matches from specific match weeks or cup rounds.

The current proposal would also require ITV to broadcast 10 EFL Cup matches,

including the semi-final and final, as well as ten Championship games.

There is said to be no exclusivity arrangement,

with any game selected by ITV also available on Sky Sports, and while the deal is still being finalised,

the I reports that EFL clubs will be asked to vote on the basic terms of the deal,

after which Sky will enter into formal contract negotiations.

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