DAZN 'submits bid to broadcast all 1,656 EFL games live'

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief

Published: March 30 2023 | 13:24

Last updated: April 1 2023 | 12:31

DAZN 'submits bid to broadcast all 1,656 EFL games live'

DAZN reportedly submits a bid that would see every game from the Championship, League One and League Two broadcast live in the UK from 2024-25.

DAZN has reportedly made an audacious bid to broadcast the entirety of the EFL live on UK television starting from the 2024-25 season.

Sky Sports is the incumbent broadcaster of the EFL, paying around £119m a year for 138 games across the Championship, League One and League Two, the playoffs and the EFL Cup.

If successful, DAZN's bid would mark a ten-fold increase in the number of EFL games available to UK viewers, with all 1,656 matches from the three divisions being broadcast live.

The deal would be worth around £200m a season - a relatively-modest 68% increase in the value of the rights in exchange for 1,500 more games, although the EFL Cup is not thought to be part of DAZN's bid.

Such a move, which would gift the 92 clubs of the EFL significant additional funding, would necessitate the FA dropping the traditional 2.45pm to 5.15pm Saturday broadcast blackout which prevents live football from being shown on TV in the UK.

It could also pave the way for the Premier League to finally screen all 380 games a season live in the UK, even though the league has recently insisted that it has no plans to lobby for a change to the status quo. At present, only 200 games a season are shown on UK TV, whereas viewers globally are able to watch the competition in full.

According to The Times, DAZN has committed to having four cameras and a commentator at every single EFL game under its proposal, although the broadcaster is believed to be looking for at least a five-year deal from the EFL rather than the four years currently on offer.

Despite DAZN's bold move, Sky Sports - broadcaster of the EFL since the collapse of ITV Digital two decades ago - could yet reach a new agreement, potentially matching that of DAZN, while Nordic streamer Viaplay and TNT Sports - the new name for BT Sport - are also part of the bidding process.

The auction is expected to conclude by this summer.