Streaming platform DAZN have reportedly entered the bidding for the EFL TV rights package which would see all 1,656 matches – meaning every Bristol City and Bristol Rovers game – streamed live.
The EFL is considering seeking an end to the 3pm Saturday blackout when the new rights package begins in 2024/25, which would allow supporters to watch every game in the Championship, League One and League Two live.
Sky Sports holds the broadcasting rights until 2024, showing 138 live games, with the vast majority involving Championship clubs. City have been on Sky several times this season, both on featured coverage as well as red button screenings, while the Gas were featured live by the broadcaster for the first time in more than five years when they faced Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in October.
Rovers are not alone in feeling underrepresented by Sky's EFL coverage, which nets £119m per year to be distributed across the leagues. Just 20 League One games were broadcast live last season, with just 10 in League Two, meaning 26 clubs were never featured on live TV throughout the campaign.
The EFL, of course, operates its iFollow streaming service, giving domestic fans access to some games, while international supporters are not subject to the blackout and can watch all fixtures live online.
The current setup has left member clubs and EFL bosses believing there is untapped potential in broadcasting revenue, leading the concept of every game being available to fans to be explored.
According to the Daily Mail, DAZN has launched a £200m-a-year bid to stream every EFL game live on its app. The platform operates in multiple markets including Italy, Japan, Germany and the United States, while its British service largely focuses on boxing, with Anthony Joshua's heavyweight return on Saturday among its flagship offerings.
Sky Sports, BT Sport and Norwegian provider Viaplay, which owns the UK TV rights to many nations' Euro 2024 qualifiers including Scotland, are also believed to have entered the bidding process. DAZN is reportedly open-minded about not having exclusive rights so it can show every game live, meaning matches could be aired by multiple providers at the same time.
That is exactly what has been agreed for the upcoming Indian Premier League cricket season, with both Sky Sports and DAZN showing all games live in the UK.
Speaking on the What The Footie podcast earlier this month, Rovers CEO Tom Gorringe said Rovers are in favour of exploring new broadcasting options, including the end of the 3pm blackout.
“I think when we moved to iFollow initially, there was some real strong opposition against streaming at all, never mind the 3pm blackout; I think there was a fear that it would lead to reduced attendances and people choosing to stream games,” Gorringe said. “My personal view is, that’s not the case - if fans can attend the game, they will. If they can’t, more often than not, and they can stream it, they will.
“We’ve generated a huge amount of income through iFollow over the past couple of seasons. One of the ‘benefits’ of Covid was that it helps supporters get used to that process and obviously we’re seeing digital streaming across the whole of sport change dramatically.
“I think it’ll probably change in the coming years. I think those that are against it, the arguments have diminished over the past few years and I don’t think there are any valid ones remaining that I’m aware of.
“I think we’ll probably see some quite strong changes over the coming years in terms of streaming and how games are viewed by supporters, not just in this country but all over the world.
“The strange thing about us, at the moment, is fans in this country can’t watch our games at 3 o’clock on a Saturday but fans in other countries can and all that leads to piracy, and people finding illegitimate to ways to watch the game when actually most of them would be more comfortable with that money going to the football clubs.”
City's position on the blackout and the future of broadcasting is unknown, but the club has shown significant commitment to streaming through its Robins TV platform
The 3pm blackout has been in place for more than half a century and was designed to protect crowds at games, but there is a growing feeling that the regulations are out of date.
Should the EFL seek to remove the restrictions, it would need to convince the Football Association, which would need to secure an exemption from UEFA to allow the broadcast of 3pm games in the UK.
