The English Football League agreed to a new five-year TV rights deal worth £595M ($765M) with Sky Sports, according to the BBC. The deal, which runs from the start of next season until May '24, is a 35% increase on the previous contract. The broadcaster will show 138 league games a season from all three divisions as well as every playoff match, plus EFL Cup games and the latter stages of the EFL Trophy. A "number of Championship clubs had pushed for a different deal." They felt that what Sky was offering "undervalued the rights for the league" and left League Championship sides at a disadvantage. Leeds United Chair Andrea Radrizzani, who also owns broadcaster Eleven Sports, has criticized the current deal, saying clubs "are not getting enough money for games which are shown on live television." By comparison, the Premier League's three-year TV deal with Sky and BT Sport is worth £4.55B ($5.85B), but the amount Amazon paid for one package of games "has not been disclosed." EFL CEO Shaun Harvey said, "The deal we have entered into with Sky, after fully testing the current market through our external advisers, allows our clubs the benefit of financial security which was an absolute priority for us throughout this process" (BBC, 11/19). REUTERS' Simon Evans reported under the deal, Sky Sports will have the right to stream midweek Championship fixtures via its interactive services. The clubs can livestream in the U.K. and Ireland any non-televised league match via their own iFollow service, "apart from those in the Saturday afternoon blackout period" (REUTERS, 11/19).
