Like "many sporting bodies," the English Football League has been "seduced by the promise of the commercial gains" to be had by becoming a broadcaster, according to Tony Connelly of THE DRUM. The EFL is "preparing to take hold of its destiny in a bigger way" -- by becoming its own broadcaster, a move which "will open new commercial opportunities for the league and its teams." The iFollow digital streaming platform will launch for the start of the '17-18 season, providing coverage of League Championship, League One and League Two games for fans based outside of the U.K. and Ireland. It is a "revolutionary" move for the league and one which "few other major sports rights holders have yet dared to attempt," instead favoring live streaming partnerships with Facebook Live, Twitter or Amazon. EFL Marketing Dir Drew Barrand said, "In essence, we're becoming a broadcaster." Such a move "could have an inverse impact on current and future broadcast agreements," however Barrand maintained that the transition has been carried out in a way that ensures the value of the league's current broadcast deals are not jeopardized. Barrand: "You only need to look at the last round of broadcast deals to see the strength of our current rights with the value up 68% on the previous round" (THE DRUM, 6/7).
