Sky Sports plans to broadcast football during the 3pm Saturday slot as it gets set to increase its live sports coverage by 50% from next season.
As Sky insisted it “takes seriously” the responsibility of minimising disruption for match-going fans, it announced that every game in the opening weekend of the English Football League season would be broadcast live, including those scheduled to start at traditional kick-off times.
As part of a new £935m deal with the EFL, Sky is to show 1,000 lower-league fixtures in the 2024-25 season, with a commitment to featuring each of the 72 clubs live on 20 occasions. Coverage of the season will begin and end with a full round of fixtures, with the traditional Saturday blackout set to be avoided because Premier League sides will not be playing at the same time.
Viewers will be able to choose from all fixtures by using an expanded streaming service, known as Sky Sports+, which will have the capability to show up to 100 live events at once. For match-going fans, Sky pledged to pull forward the dates by which it makes its game selections, promising that every live fixture preceding the FA Cup third round would be selected before the season begins, and games up to March decided by November.
The managing director of Sky Sports, Jonathan Licht, said the EFL coverage on the weekend of 10-11 August would be “a huge moment for football fans across the country”, promising a step change in coverage for lower-league clubs and no increase in cost for Sky subscribers.
Licht also insisted that Sky was not dismissive of the needs of match-going fans, for whom shifting kick-off times are a source of frustration. “Despite what some think we take the responsibility seriously,” Licht said. “We would confidently say that we select matches in a timely way, and that there is something of a black hole where we don’t see the discussion with safety officials, police and other competitions. That is getting more complicated and is taking more time. We will work to give as much notice as possible to fans.”
In a typical EFL weekend from next season Sky will show 10 live matches, with five from the Championship, and five from Leagues One and Two combined. Sky will also show midweek match rounds in their entirety, with distinct commentary teams for each match. Its expansion in coverage will extend to the Premier League from 2025-26, with 100 extra matches added to Sky’s output, meaning it will broadcast a minimum of 215 live top-flight games.
