October 3 – The English Football League (EFL) is tendering international broadcast rights to its three division (72 teams) for the 2024 to 2028 period.
The deadline for the EFL’s Request for Proposal (RFP) is November 17.
Discussion has been on-going with the Premier League that from 2028 could see the EFL’s international broadcast sales could potentially come under a new sales regime and sold alongside the Premier League’s international broadcast sales.
The value within that arrangement would be that the EFL would benefit from stronger access to the Premier League’s broadcast partners, while the Premier League would have a larger volume of content they would be able to make available.
To date nothing has been agreed with the Premier League to that effect and there is no new regime in place. However the EFL said that it will continue to discuss the proposal with its member clubs.
“As several important issues are still to be resolved, it was made clear at the meeting that nothing has been agreed with either the Premier League or its Clubs. As such EFL Clubs were not required to vote or take a decision on any matter, but instead held a proactive debate on the current status of the discussions,” said an EFL statement.
“To maintain momentum, the League will now enter into targeted consultation with all EFL Clubs in smaller groups, to consider additional context and detail of the proposal. Club views will be collated to inform the discussions with the Premier League which have been ongoing throughout 2023, as we seek a speedy and satisfactory conclusion to improve the financial health of EFL Clubs.”
Current international sales value for Premier League rights is estimated at about £100 million. Many of the deals currently in place are expected to continue through to 2028.
The EFL is making 215 matches available per season for the current cycle.
EFL chief commercial officer, Ben Wright, said: “With global TV audiences of hundreds of millions across 187 territories alongside matchday attendances at their highest for 70 years, there is clearly a high demand for EFL football both here in the UK and across the globe.
“We are therefore inviting partners who can help us to broaden international distribution and exposure, improve the quality of our content and to explore innovative commercial and marketing avenues so that we can strengthen our global audiences, improve profile and ultimately deliver increased broadcast revenues into the member clubs.”
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