Photo: Photosport
The English Football League has approved a record broadcasting deal with Sky Sports worth 935 million pounds ($NZ1.9 billion) over a five-year period, a 50 percent increase on the value of the current rights agreement.
Clubs from the second-tier EFL unanimously voted to accept the deal, which will see over 1000 matches being broadcast or streamed from the 2024-25 to 2028-29 seasons.
The EFL, which organises the professional leagues below the top flight Premier League, said the arrangement would be made up of guaranteed payments of 895 million pounds and 40 million pounds in marketing benefits.
"This is the biggest deal in football, in terms of the number of matches being broadcast," Sky Sports Managing Director Jonathan Licht said in a statement.
"We look forward to working with the EFL and its 72 member clubs to give fans the most entertaining viewing experience."
Ten EFL matches will be broadcast live every weekend, including five from the second-tier Championship.
League One and Two teams will benefit from greater coverage with five of their games being broadcast live. Fans will also be able to watch every League Cup and EFL Trophy match.
The deal is worth only a fraction of the value of the Premier League's, however. The English top flight renewed its deals with Sky, BT and Amazon for around 5 billion pounds for three seasons to 2024-25.
- Reuters
