EFL + Sky Sports Broadcast Rights Agreement: Questions And Answers

EFL Clubs have overwhelmingly approved a recommendation put forward by the EFL Board and Commercial Committee to enter into a new five-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports worth £935m.

The following Q&A provides further details on what is a landmark deal for EFL Clubs, establishing the League as a “premium partner” with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports and giving supporters unparalleled access to more EFL action than ever before.

RIGHTS PROCESS

Why has/is the EFL re-negotiating its broadcast rights?

• The EFL’s current five-year agreement with Sky Sports expires at the end of the 2023/24 season
• In October 2022 the EFL issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for interested parties in respect of its new broadcast rights agreement.
• Rights for all 1,891 matches across the League, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy and all end of season Play-Off matches were made available to prospective bidders and initially an RFP process was conducted to see what ideas existed in the market, rather than a particular model being prescribed.
• The aim was to take a fresh and new approach to this latest rights cycle, inviting proposals that embrace innovation and offer contemporary solutions that cater for changing audience habits.

What was the result of the League’s Request for Proposal (RFP) process?

• The EFL completed a full and comprehensive review of the multiple tender submissions received as part of its broadcast rights sales process from 2024 onwards.
• Working with media rights experts Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates (O&O), the EFL ran an extremely thorough process that included multiple stages and held extensive discussions with a variety of interested parties.
• Many expressions of interest and proposals were gained from the RFP – this included free to air, pay tv, OTT and streaming formats.
• The EFL then issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) offering a series of options for which providers could submit bids.
• Having considered all bids, at the beginning of April 2023, the League entered into an exclusive month-long negotiating period with the preferred bidder, Sky Sports.
• After completing an extensive tender and negotiation process, EFL clubs have agreed a landmark deal, establishing the League as a “premium partner” with a world renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports.

Why has the EFL chosen to go with Sky?

• We have run a comprehensive process including an RFP and ITT and covered the market
• This represents an excellent outcome for both parties.
• Sky’s offer delivers:
  • The best deal in the market for the EFL.
  • A rights deal that showcases, enhances and unifies 72 clubs.
  • Premium coverage including genuine commitment to all EFL competitions.
  • An innovative approach to evolve EFL output whilst maintaining balance of attendances
  • Certainty of fixture movement for supporters and clubs
  • A platform which provides further commercial benefits.
  • An approach which aids future rights cycles and development.

Who else tendered for the rights and what did they offer?

• Across the process, the League received multiple bids from various parties that proposed a variety of different broadcast options for the EFL to consider
• Clearly, due to confidentiality protections in the submissions process, the EFL is not able to disclose the nature or detail of other offers
• The EFL considers that the chosen offer was by far the best for EFL clubs on a number of key criteria including value, the provision of more product for clubs and supporters

RIGHTS VALUES

What broadcast rights package has the EFL agreed?

• EFL clubs have agreed a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935m over a five-year period.
• The deal is worth £895m in rights fees plus £40m in additional marketing benefits

What is the duration of the rights agreement?

• Running from season 2024/25 to season 2028/29, the deal will run for five seasons
• Over half of all EFL competition games to be broadcast live via both existing Sky Sports channels or via a Sky Sports streaming destination available on TV and mobile devices.

Does the new rights agreement value represent an uplift on the previous deal?

• The new agreement represents a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £895m in guaranteed payments over a five-year period (£179m annual average)
• This represents an uplift of £300m over the five-year period and £60m per season in comparison to the current agreement.

What does this mean in real terms for Clubs?

• The new deal represents a 50% increase on the current rights value and will see significantly enhanced exposure for all EFL clubs with an uplift in coverage across all divisions
• It also includes an additional £40m worth of commercial and marketing investment from Sky Sports to boost the profile of EFL competitions, Clubs, and community initiatives.

Does the broadcast income vary between divisions?

• The Club Basic Award is distributed in accordance with the League’s Articles of Association.
• Calculations are uplifted with RPI following each Domestic Broadcast deal.
• The formula splits the League’s distributable revenue depending on the values sourced from broadcast and other income but the current effective share is approximately Championship 70%, League One 18% and League Two 12%.
• The uplifted element of the domestic broadcast deal is likely to be fed into the distribution calculation and be split between divisions on an 80% / 12% / 8% ratio.
• Weighting is given to Championship clubs as primary drivers of rights values, with clubs agreeing the distribution formulas up to certain levels
• According to the existing distribution formula, clubs in the Championship will be approximately 46% better off and 25% in League One and League Two respectively

Do clubs receive an additional match fee each time they are selected for broadcast?

• Facility fees will be applicable, but this still requires a debate amongst clubs in respect of how they will be allocated which will take place later this year

Does this deal reach the value you had in mind?

• This represents an excellent outcome for both parties.
• Research suggests removal of Article 48 (and the broadcast of all games) could lead to a drop of up to £37m in attendance revenue, therefore that number needed to be factored into any offer that sought to remove it
• No bid received convinced us in relation to Article 48’s removal and the various models proposed fell some way short of the value of the Sky Sports offer
• The Sky Sports deal gives clubs certainty to plan for half a decade and will see every club receive more money per season
• This represents a significant lift in guaranteed revenue rights and is a record deal for the EFL.
• For Sky Sports, this provides an opportunity to attract more fans of clubs from across all three leagues.

Does this mean that the proposal to jointly sell media revenues with the Premier League as part of discussions between the leagues is now off the table?

• Discussions between the football authorities regarding a new financial deal for the professional game remain ongoing
• The EFL remains committed to those discussions as we seek to narrow the gap between the EFL and Premier League and make clubs sustainable at all levels
• With this new agreement, alignment with the Premier League’s rights cycle can be delivered in the future should it be required

Do you feel the deal meets the objectives you set out to achieve at the outset?

• Our overriding aims were to deliver an increase in rights fees for clubs, increase the amount of games shown to a wide audience and be innovative in our approach to deliver a model that was fit for the modern consumer
• This deal delivers on those objectives

Does the new rights package have unanimous agreement from clubs?

• In accordance with EFL Regulations, a majority vote of Clubs overall and a majority vote of Clubs in the Championship were required for any proposal to be passed.
• On Friday 5 May, all 72 EFL clubs unanimously approved the deal, in accordance with the Regulations
• Prior to the vote, the deal had been reviewed and recommended for approval by both the EFL Board and Commercial Committee which represents clubs on all commercial matters

RIGHTS DEAL DETAIL

How many live games will the new deal include?

• In total, over 1000 (1059) of the EFL’s 1891 games across the Sky Bet EFL, EFL Cup and EFL Trophy will be broadcast:
  • 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
  • All 127 EFL Trophy matches

So, this means increased exposure for clubs in all divisions?

• Yes, increasing the amount of EFL action shown under any new rights deal was a key objective with research showing that fans wanted more access. This agreement delivers that uplift
• In the current agreement, roughly 13% of EFL matches are shown by Sky Sports, whereas in the new deal, approximately 56% will be shown
• Each League weekend fixture round will see 10 live EFL fixtures shown. Five matches will take centre stage in the Sky Bet Championship and fans in Sky Bet League One and League Two will benefit from greater coverage than ever before with five games being broadcast live.
• For the first time ever, fans will be able to watch every match from the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy.

Does the rights agreement include live coverage of Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy matches?

• Yes, beyond league action, for the very first time, alongside the Sky Bet Play-Offs, Sky Sports will now show ALL match action in the Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy
• 15 Play-Off games
• 93 EFL Cup games
• 127 EFL Trophy games

With an increase in number of games, will there be any other new matches available to view that aren’t currently?

• Under the new deal, the following will be available to view:
  • 10 weekend games across the three divisions
  • All opening and final day fixtures in the Sky Bet EFL
  • All midweek league fixtures
  • All bank holiday fixtures including Easter, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day
  • All fixtures played in League One & Two during international breaks
  • All Play-Off, Carabao Cup and EFL Trophy fixtures (as above)

Do you think you’ve made too many matches available?

• The total number of matches to be broadcast is 1059 compared to 243 in the current Sky deal
• However, in total clubs currently stream 360 matches on iFollow and club streaming services, so the actual total is 603 matches already broadcast or streamed
• The additional 456 matches includes 202 additional cup matches with the remaining 254 matches coming from bank holidays, opening and closing weekends and weekend matches
• That leaves 832 matches and 26 out of 36 regular weekend fixtures that are not broadcast

Will this volume of games impact attendances?

• It is clear that supporters want more broadcast content
• We already make 603 matches available and we have no evidence that they impact attendances which up are up by 12% this season with approximately 20 million attending in a season
• We have protected 832 key Saturday 3pm matches and introduced extended notice periods for fans, balanced club selections and five weekend matches at Sat 12.30
• We believe the balance we have struck grows media income but not at the expense of attendance income

SCHEDULE & SLOTS

Will Article 48 (3pm blocked broadcasting period) still apply?

• Yes, the blocked period between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturdays will remain.
• This means there will be seven 3pm games in the Championship, and 19 x 3pm games in League One and Two combined, which will not be broadcast each weekend

Why has the EFL retained the 3pm blocked broadcasting period?

• As above, all options were considered and on the table for the right bid
• The bid from Sky Sports was ultimately the strongest which sought to make a significant amount of EFL match action available while protecting Saturday blocked hours

When will live EFL matches be broadcast?

• Weekend fixtures slots will be broadcast outside blocked hours across the weekend
• Full fixture slots will be confirmed in due course

Will the new deal just see some clubs selected more frequently than others?

• The new deal includes an agreement that there is a more equal spread of club picks
• Championship clubs will be live approximately 23 times per season
• League One and League Two clubs will be live approximately 16 times per season
• The objective has been to apply more balance and certainty to broadcast selections

TV PICK NOTICE

How much notice will be provided for the selection of live TV games?

• With the substantial increase in the number of live matches, Sky Sports and the EFL will introduce a new commitment for clubs and fans which will provide longer notice periods on TV selections.
• The defined notice periods will enable clubs and fans to plan further in advance and this will include the placement of all live matches selected for broadcast for the period to FA Cup 3rd Round before the start of the season. Greater parity in the number of times that clubs are selected for TV coverage is also guaranteed.

This seems to address a big criticism from fans of the current deal?

• Both Sky Sports and the EFL understand the frustrations that fans have around TV selection notification periods.
• While the current deal sees 5 weeks' notice given across the majority of the season, both parties were keen to extend this.
• By selecting TV picks early and giving much more notice, fans will be able to plan with certainty when making travel and hotel arrangements.

CHANGES TO CURRENT WAYS OF WATCHING

Will matches still be available to watch via iFollow, or Clubs’ alternative streaming services?

• From the 2024/25 season onward, this new deal with Sky Sports will effectively replace the EFL’s domestic video streaming option provided via iFollow and club streaming services
• Audio services will remain alongside existing audio-visual arrangements for international audiences.

Does the loss of domestic streaming mean clubs will be financially better off or worse off with this new deal?

• Given the significant uplift in rights values across the duration of the deal, EFL clubs as a collective will be significantly better off than if they maintained the current combined arrangement of linear broadcasting and individual club streaming.

PRODUCTION VALUES

So will Sky Sports OTT mean single camera production like iFollow?

• The EFL and Sky Sports will continue to work together to innovate, seeking opportunities to improve coverage and take viewers closer to the action
• The EFL will be investing significantly in production infrastructure to enhance the viewing experience.
• Sky Sports will have a minimum of eight cameras for each game broadcast on existing channels
• A minimum of four cameras will be used at Championship and League One matches, and a minimum of two cameras in League Two
• For matches available to stream, Sky Sports commentary will also be provided

ARTICLE 48

Does the EFL believe the new rights agreement could negatively impact on club attendances?

• As Article 48 has been protected, we do not believe that attendances will be significantly impacted by more match action being made available.
• Nothing beats the live matchday experience and we are confident that fans that can and are able to attend a match will continue to do so in the large numbers that we continue to see through the turnstiles.
• We also know that there is a large demand from fans that cannot always get to games, so making more EFL action available through one established provider represents another way of taking EFL action to the audience.