Streaming giants including DAZN, Viaplay and Apple TV are among those interested in snapping up the EFL’s TV rights, with the league’s 3pm blackout rule looking increasingly likely to be scrapped in a major shake-up of football on TV.
An invitation to tender for the broadcast rights from the 2024-25 season was issued at the end of February, with EFL clubs told at league meetings last week that there is optimism that they can significantly increase both TV revenue and exposure for the league by embracing streaming platforms.
Scandanavian firm Viaplay is one of the early front runners, with traditional broadcasters Sky and TNT Sports (the future name of BT Sport) also interested in picking up some of the packages on offer.
i understands the EFL wants to conclude the process in the next three to six months and it has reiterated in private its public message that all options are on the table.
The league’s invitation to tender made every single game in the EFL potentially available to broadcast and there is even the the possibility of each league having a different broadcast partner.
Streaming is seen as central both to driving up the price of the rights and taking the league into a new era where viewing habits have changed but offering it legally is relatively new in the UK.
As part of taking an open mind to the next step EFL chiefs are prepared to sacrifice the 3pm blackout, which prevents games, highlights and goals being shown between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday.
Proponents say it helps protect ticket sales and the match-going tradition but those in favour of scrapping it say it is out of step with the modern fan and blocks possible revenue streams.
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Fans being able to buy home and away streaming season tickets for their clubs could be an option while putting some of the games on free-to-air TV is also a possibility as the EFL awaits formal bids in the next fortnight.
An EFL meeting was held remotely last week at which club executives were given an update on a tender process that is seen as potentially transformative for the league.
Those dialling in had to sign a non-disclosure agreement but it is understood they were told the EFL has been “encouraged” by the amount of interest shown in the rights from multiple broadcast and streaming services.
i can reveal that clubs were told that four possible models are being considered – pay TV, free-to-air TV, streaming or a hybrid of those models.
Based on the offers received, the EFL board will make a recommendation to clubs before the end of the month and then it will be up to them to give it the green light.
The league’s regulations mean that 50 per cent of Championship clubs must vote in favour of the TV deal and a majority of all the clubs in the league must approve for it to pass.
One executive told i they feared some clubs would revert to “what they know” rather than embrace a chance to change the way the league is viewed and “offer fans what they want”.
League One and League Two are rarely shown in the current Sky deal and the EFL has calculated just 5 per cent of its content is shown live as opposed to more than 40 per cent of the Premier League’s. That could radically change if the 3pm blackout is scrapped.
The blackout has been in place since the 1960s and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters told the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit last week that his organisation remains in favour of retaining it. The EFL would require permission from Uefa to drop it.
However the blackout only applies if more than 50 per cent of Saturday games are shown at 3pm, so if they moved half of the games to other times or days it would automatically no longer apply to the EFL.
Time for EFL clubs to embrace the future – analysis
A Netflix of football has long been talked about by supporters who cast envious glances at fans of US sports who can pay for season passes and watch whatever game they want.
That’s not possible in England, where some big games are still not broadcast as the country is one of only three in Europe to enforce a 3pm blackout.
The idea of a Netflix for football still feels a long way off in the Premier League – fear of killing the golden goose and disrupting their incredibly lucrative TV deal driving its determination to stick with the 3pm blackout – but the EFL has made it clear it is open to innovation with its latest rights tender.
A streaming season ticket for your favourite club, League Two matches shifted to Thursday or subscribing to a platform that lets you stream every game in your club’s league – these are all options available to bidders and would represent a genuine sea change for EFL clubs.
The league should be applauded for trying to keep up with changing trends in how fans watch games. League One and League Two have long been ignored by broadcasters who – quite rightly – point out that potential audiences are too small to make it worth their while to invest funds and schedule space into all of the 72 clubs.
Legal streaming is the answer and the future. The clubs should grasp it and get ahead of the broadcasting curve.
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