Bristol Rovers CEO Tom Gorringe is in favour of lifting the 3pm broadcast blackout, confident it won’t have an impact on attendances and believing the additional streaming revenues for clubs, particularly in the EFL, will be vital.
The EFL is currently negotiating a new TV deal for the 2024/25 campaign, when the deal with Sky Sports expires, and beyond with reports claiming that coverage could be split across several stations and providers, opening the possibility for more streaming.
Previous fears, and the reason why the blackout was established in the 1960s, is that televising game with a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday would automatically lead to fewer fans through the turnstiles which would then have an adverse effect on club revenues due to lower attendances. Only matches outside the specified time zone of 2.45-5.15pm can be streamed domestically, such as the win at Oxford United at the end of February which kicked off at 12:30.
