April 17 – The English Football League (EFL) has renewed its broadcast production partnership with IMG taking it through to the end of the 28/29 season. Within the new deal, IMG is committing to deliver a ‘major upgrade’ to the EFL’s broadcast output for the next five years.
The news breaks one week after the EFL signed a long-term deal with EA Sports as the body looks to cover all of its digital bases.
With record domestic and international broadcast deals in place from the 2024/25 season until 2028/29, the EFL is committing to more cameras at every broadcast Sky Bet EFL fixture, enhanced commentary facilities, new in-game
graphics and improved features to deliver a premium experience for viewers at home and abroad.
In the UK, more than 1,000 matches from the Sky Bet EFL, Carabao Cup, and Bristol Street Motors Trophy will be now shown exclusively on Sky Sports channels or via a Sky Sports streaming service. IMG will produce 866 of these matches, while Sky will handle the rest.
IMG will produce a further 832 matches (1698 in total) which will be sold outside of the UK by the EFL’s broadcast sales agencies Pitch International and Relevent Sports.
EFL chief commercial officer, Ben Wright said: “The start of the 2024/25 season, represents an exciting new era for the EFL with record-breaking rights deals at home and abroad that will see a huge number of games broadcast and a new way of watching for fans of EFL clubs.
“It was imperative that our Production Partner had the experience, expertise and capability to elevate our broadcast output across our competitions and after a thorough RFP process, it was clear that IMG could offer the world class service level required with the track record to match.
“Having started this relationship in 2019, IMG understands the EFL and the needs of its Clubs. The enhancement of that relationship with increased output will provide significant benefit to Sky Sports, Clubs, partners and other affiliates. The partnership aims to put fans first, innovate and ultimately deliver an enhanced viewing experience for EFL fans everywhere.”
IMG Head of Studios, Barney Francis said: “We are proud of everything we have achieved with the EFL over the past five years, entertaining fans with more than 500,000 minutes of thrilling action, highlights packages and broadcast shows, and building a ground-breaking remote production that’s unrivalled in football globally.
“Our work with the EFL and major global football leagues provides unique, in-depth expertise and understanding of the technical solutions, innovations, workflows and reliability required to deliver a project of this scale through a fan-first lens.”
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1731645887labto1731645887ofdlr1731645887owedi1731645887sni@g1731645887niwe.1731645887yrrah1731645887