Football League clubs are set to benefit from the Premier League’s recent broadcast deal under a "rolling solidarity agreement," according to the LANCASHIRE TELEGRAPH. The Premier League recently agreed to a new three-year £5.1B ($7.8B) deal with Sky Sports and BT Sport "and some of that money will now find its way to the Football League" from the '16-17 season onward. Under the new agreement, which is the first contracted link between the broadcasting revenues of the two leagues, clubs relegated from the Premier League to the Championship "will only receive parachute payments for three seasons instead of four," with those clubs who do not receive the payments being awarded 30% of a third-year payment. League One clubs will receive 4.5% of a third-year payment with League Two clubs getting 3%. Football League CEO Shaun Harvey said, "The eventual level of parachute and solidarity payments made to Football League clubs from 2016-17 will only be known once the Premier League has concluded the sale of its overseas rights. Nevertheless, given the scale of its domestic agreement, it seems reasonable to expect that the eventual amounts paid to Football League clubs will be substantially greater than those we’ve seen previously and could amount to more than £100 million per season" (LANCASHIRE TELEGRAPH, 2/20).
SKY EXTENDS: Sky Sports agreed to a one-season extension to its broadcast deal with the Football League. The Football League and Sky Sports have extended their existing domestic broadcasting agreement covering the '18-19 season, with the League also having an option to extend the arrangement into '19-20. The agreement, across its initial four seasons, is the most lucrative in the Football League’s history with 148 matches per season from the Football League, Capital One Cup and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy being broadcast live on Sky Sports along with highlights and clips from all three competitions. It also encompasses TV, broadband internet, Sky On Demand and mobile services (Sky Sports).
