ITV ‘in UK￡15m talks’ to air 20 Carabao Cup and Championship matches a season

ITV is in discussions with Sky Sports over a UK￡15m (US$19.1m) sublicensing deal to show up to 20 live matches from the EFL Championship and the Carabao Cup on free-to-air (FTA) television next season, according to the I.

Details:

• Sky, the I says, is keen to provide more exposure for EFL clubs and its expansive broadcast offering when its new rights deal kicks in next year, while also generating some revenue to offset the cost of that agreement
• Channel 4 and Channel 5 also held talks, but ITV, which has an existing highlights deal with the EFL, is said to have offered the most attractive proposal
• ITV could secure the first pick of games from selected match weeks or cup rounds on a non-exclusive basis
• The I says the current proposal would see ITV show ten ties from the Carabao Cup, including a semi-final and the final, plus ten Championship matches
• EFL clubs will be asked to vote on the basic terms of the deal, after which Sky will enter into formal contract negotiations

Context:

Sky’s record domestic UK￡935m (US$1.2bn), five-year deal with the EFL comes into effect at the start of the 2024/25 campaign and allows the pay-TV broadcaster to show more than 1,000 matches from all three divisions and cup competitions. The last time EFL matches were available on FTA broadcast was between 2009 and 2012 when the BBC and Sky were successful with a joint bid for the rights. The BBC showed ten exclusive matches a season from the Championship, alongside a FTA highlights show, an EFL Cup semi-final and the final.

What would the impact be of this rights deal for ITV? Read Steve McCaskill 's analysis here.