The extent to which Bolton Wanderers would be impacted from the possible removal of the EFL’s 3pm Saturday TV domestic blackout has been illustrated.
Since the start of the 2021/22 season, Bolton have played a total of 59 league matches, of which 40 kicked off at 3pm. This meant that 68% of their games were played during the blackout window, and were therefore unavailable to watch live.
Of all 92 Football League clubs, this is the 34th highest proportion, meaning some Bolton supporters would be set to benefit massively if the EFL were to lift the ban. Those Wanderers fans who are unable to get through the gates at the University of Bolton Stadium on Saturday afternoons may well be able to see their side on TV far more regularly in the near future.
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However, the 3pm Saturday TV ban is seen by some as a major part of the fabric of English football, so there are likely to be some concerns at a break with a decades-long tradition. The EFL is considering the possibility of lifting the 3pm domestic blackout when a new TV rights deal is negotiated from 2024.
Wanderers chief executive Neil Hart has voiced his approval in the past for streaming games to be as widespread as possible. The Whites made £500,000 from iFollow last season and, though the club is happy for the 3pm domestic Satuday blackout to continue with the current contractual obligations, Hart's personal view is that he would like to see this removed in the future, though he accepted it would not happen in the short-term.
Currently, the £595m deal with Sky Sports is viewed as controversial by some as clubs believe it undervalues the Championship particularly. But a new, bigger deal is hopefully in the works, with the EFL looking towards streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and Apple as potential broadcasting partners.
At present, Sky Sports show more than 138 league matches per season as well as all play-off fixtures. They also show several rounds of the Carabao Cup, including the final, and the semi-finals and final of the EFL trophy.
In a statement, the EFL said: "Rights for all 1,891 matches across the league, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy and all end of season play-off matches are available for prospective bidders."
Wanderers have had one match broadcast on Sky Sports this season. That was the Carabao Cup second round loss at home to Premier League side Aston Villa.
The Whites had only one game shown via the platform last season too. This was a goalless draw in League One against Burton Albion.
Rights to all of those games could not be sold without screening matches between 14:45 and 17:15, which is not possible at the moment due to the 3pm blackout. Introduced in the 1960s as a way of protecting attendances in the lower leagues, the 3pm blackout is intended to encourage fans to go to live games in person by preventing matches being shown on live TV.
During the pandemic, the ban was lifted temporarily as part of ‘Project Restart’, when games were played behind closed doors with fans watching from home. But it was reinstated once fans were allowed back into stadiums.
EFL chief commercial officer, Ben Wright, said: "Alongside the EFL's rich tradition and distinguished history there is a desire to evolve, grow and innovate in order to grow our audience further and we're looking for a partner or partners who share that vision."
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