EFL plan to end 3pm Saturday blackout and make available live games on streaming giants

The EFL plan to end the 3pm Saturday blackout and make available live games on streaming giants according to reports on Tuesday night.

The governing body are ‘taking a fresh and new approach’ to their next TV rights cycle with the aim of making every match in the Championship, League One and League Two available for broadcast via Netflix, Amazon, Apple, YouTube and Facebook.

The EFL have a deal with Sky right now that includes 138 games per season, but only two Championship matches are broadcast live each weekend leaving many fans angered by Leagues One and Two getting ignored while the National League on BT gets shown more than the two divisions above.

The deal was opposed by many of the EFL’s big clubs, who will now welcome this new offering to expand the exposure of England’s second, third and fourth tiers.

Sky’s deal ends with the 2023/24 season, and the Football League has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for streaming platforms to get on board from the 2024/25 campaign.

Many clubs already have their own streaming platforms for fans to watch games, but the Daily Mail state the EFL are targeting £200million-a-year by selling more matches to the mass market – a big increase on the £119m-a-year they get from Sky.

An invite has been sent to streaming giants Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple+, YouTube and Facebook, as well as the main domestic rights holders Sky and BT Sport.

This invitation is a request for proposals with EFL chiefs open to listening the innovative ideas and solutions to the rapidly changing broadcast market.

A statement issued on Wednesday read: “The EFL has today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for interested parties in respect of its broadcast rights.

“The broadcast rights will be available from the beginning of season 2024/25 when the current five-year agreement with Sky Sports expires.

“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.

“The League is taking a fresh and new approach to this latest rights cycle, inviting proposals that embrace innovation and offer contemporary solutions that cater for changing audience habits.”

The proposals from the EFL regarding scrapping the 3pm blackout feel like a pretty seismic shift.

The biggest issue is that once the genie is out of the bottle, attendances could well plummet and never recover. Hard not to feel as though they’re playing with fire.

— HLTCO (@HLTCO) October 12, 2022

Making every game available to watch for fans would end the 3pm blackout that has been in place since the 1960s to help maintain attendance levels in stadiums.

The blackout only applies to when 50 per cent of Premier League and Championship matches are due to kick off at 3pm on Saturday, so moving half of the programme to another time would enable all games to be televised.

If not, the EFL would have to lobby the Football Association, who would then have to apply to UEFA for an exemption, to drop the long-standing blackout arrangement.

EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright said: “With 54% of the UK population watching EFL football on television each year and a global audience of more than 400 million, it’s an exciting time to be going to market for the League’s broadcast rights.

“Whilst the appetite for EFL football remains stronger than ever, we want to grow this audience further. We are inviting proposals from organisations that can enhance and develop the League’s offering, taking a new and innovative approach to how people consume EFL content. 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.”

It’s also claimed the Premier League will be keeping tabs on the process, with the top flight departing from the traditional 3pm Saturday model in recent seasons.

Premier League matches were streamed online on Amazon Prime for the first time during the COVID pandemic to open up games to audiences at home, and talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has insisted it’s the way to go for the English game to become a global sporting powerhouse.

It also comes after MLS in the United States announced a new ten-year partnership with Apple worth $2.5billion to broadcast every Major League Soccer game each season on its own subscription service.

Discussing on talkSPORT back in June, the Simon Jordan said: “It’s what should happen and it’s what I’ve been talking about for about three or four years, for the Premier League to build its own platform and owning its own content, rather than doing it through third party outlets like Sky, BT and the overseas deals that they’ve signed.

“If you build your own platform, like the ‘Netflix of football’ idea that I’ve mooted for some time, charge 100million people around the world who would easily subscribe to it £9.99-a-month, which is no great shake in terms of cost, you’d be generating £10-12billion a year.

“You look at the £3billion a year that they’re currently getting and that has associated costs, so of course there’s a point in question that the league should be getting off its backside and moving through the gears.

“There’s another argument about biting the hand that fed them because there’s no doubt that Sky and others have taken football to a different level, but their time is beginning to go into the past.

“I think that Sky has had its day and I think there’s an opportunity – I’ve always believed that streaming and that every game can be broadcast.

“I don’t believe in the 3pm watershed anymore because it was only put in place to protect live attendances and live is live, and it’ll always be live and there will always be an audience for live.

“I believe that the Premier League needs to get its digital thinking into the right place and advance itself.”

🔁 “I’m a great one for tradition, but a lot of things have changed.”

📺 “The EFL would be tardy if it didn’t look at the case for removing the 3pm blackout & utilising streaming.”

Simon Jordan says the EFL should look at streaming Saturday 3pm games.

Agree with this? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/9RKsYHAZ43

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) November 30, 2021

This is what fans said as the EFL plan to end the 3pm Saturday blackout and make available live games on streaming giants…

@ChrisParkerNo6: Football should never be a TV programme. This could be the death of the game as we know it. Once people get used to not going to live games (it may take a generation) the games as a spectacle is lost

@ChrisCarter90: Bad.

@NewboldJrd: Might as well, most VPN anyway!!

@siwade82: Terrible idea. Awful for non league clubs and opens the door for prem to do it, which will in turn be bad for them!

@EgalGeordie: No brainer its a good idea. With streamers the blackout has not been effective for years, and as TV hungers for more games too many have been moved from Saturday 3pm.

@jaspermather26: The great thing about English football and the reason it’s so good is due to the strength of the pyramid. This will massively undermine that. Bad idea.

@SkeltonAsh: Bad for non-league clubs. Maybe solution is move non-league games to 1pm KO. Will help in winter with cost of running floodlights as they shouldn’t be needed (at least not for as long). That game finishes then head home or to your local pub to watch televised games? Could work?

@BigMills88: FOOTBALL IS NOT A TV SHOW

@shane_robshaw: I’ve got a fire stick yet still go to 99% of games. people will still go!

@wondermanduke: Depends on how much the games are available for and who the money goes to? For me the money should be split 80/20 to the home team as it is now for none pay on the gate. Also I’d consider making it more expensive than the ifollow package to discourage the arm chair fans.

@ChristianEagle0: Good for armchair fans. Wouldn’t make a difference for those who go.

@ltfckimbo: Of course its bad for football. On top of the implications to non-league & grassroots, its all about short-term gain. And every time income increases, player wages and ticket prices increase even faster, fans get fucked over and the whole thing becomes less and less sustainable.

@JBTEvans: Trouble is sky don’t care about the EFL. Their coverage is terrible. Could easily have 5 or 6 matches a weekend across the three divisions and more trophy and cup games if they sold the rights all separately.

@maxcpfc21: Some people don’t realise this could put lower league clubs into extinction. This can’t go on.

@richardrccrooks: If the EFL end the Saturday 3pm blackout and make every game available for live broadcast – what impact on attendances at every level of the game ? What compensation to those clubs that lose revenue?

@charliebeest: This could destroy football down the pyramid. But, already today there’s been more of a reaction to this than there was to the proposal of ditching the independent regulator for. 2024. We as fans need to work to kick all of this selfish greed out of our game

@nonleaguevol: I’m just not in favour. Why? It benefits the streaming services and bigger clubs – what support would they offer clubs below the Championship? The next generation need to see matches in person.. not have more choice of games on tv. It costs enough already for Sky, BT Sport, Prime – no doubt a 4th service will win the bidding war! Maybe I’m being negative and need more facts but I’m not a fan when tv rights and “bidding wars” get mentioned! Support local!

@Staceywestblog: This would kill grassroots football. It would impact non league and drive clubs to extinction. It’s a terrible idea driven by greed.

@ManLikeReid: Unsure on how I feel about this. Will bring new fans to smaller clubs but it would surely lower attendances especially away from home

@SJ_Cole08: This is a horrendous idea.

@Luke18652110: I really dont see the issue with this.

@Tommyboy119: Football has to evolve to survive. I’ll still be going to matches but could be a massive boost to teams with low income/crowds.

@charliebeest: This could destroy football down the pyramid. But, already today there’s been more of a reaction to this than there was to the proposal of ditching the independent regulator for. 2024. We as fans need to work to kick all of this selfish greed out of our game

@CallumChadwick_: This will kill off the lower leagues. This would remove all incentive to actually go to the game. Why would you go to Accrington, for example, on a cold, wet Saturday in January when you can stay at home and watch it on TV?

@footydevotion: I’ve mixed views on this as a Hartlepool fan and ST holder. Personally I would love the opportunity to be able to watch more away games. However I appreciate it will have a huge and potentially devastating impact on season ticket & match day revenue at clubs below PL level.

@padclark1: I honestly don’t know. Speaking about me personally it would be good for me because I work in hospitality so I can work 10 till 10 on a Saturday and not be able to go to some matches but I still want to watch the game. For me I don’t mind either way because of Latics radio

@JPGarvin1994: Awful idea. Kiss goodbye to the football pyramid. B teams used to replace the clubs that will inevitably die from this