There will be "a huge increase" in the number of League Championship matches shown live on TV, per a tender document issued by the English Football League, according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The EFL will allow the number of league games broadcast live to "almost treble," from 112 to 324 matches a season in '19-20. Up to 228 of the 552 Championship matches "would be live, compared with 92 at present." The rights will reportedly be split into separate packages, with a weekend package, including the playoffs, of a minimum of 114 and a maximum of 228 live games, and a "midweek package of up to 96 matches." There will be a third package for the EFL Cup "with all those matches available to be shown live." Interested broadcasters "will be asked to stipulate how many matches they intend to show." The EFL will also allow broadcasters to screen matches simultaneously, "as happens now with BT Sport and the Champions League, so viewers can choose which live game to watch." The tender document for the new deal, to start from the '19-20 season, marks a "considerable change in approach from the EFL," which has created a set of packages that it believes "will appeal to broadcasters in the expectation of stiff competition for the rights between Sky and BT." Both have previously indicated that they are interested in bidding (LONDON TIMES, 7/5).
