Football League agree new TV deal

April 4, 2011   ·   2 Comments

The Football League have announced a new broadcasting agreement with Sky Sports to run for three seasons from 2012/13. The new deal, worth £195m, will see Sky Sports extend their unrivalled live coverage of the npower Football League, Carling Cup and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy until 2015.

The League confirmed that they are engaged in ongoing discussions with broadcasters regarding free-to-air match highlights, however the new deal is expected to bring to an end live matches on free-to-air television.  The BBC currently hold rights to 10 live Football League matches along with the latter stages of the Carling Cup, however appear not to have bid in this latest round due to budget cuts.

Under the new agreement Sky Sports will broadcast, exclusively live, each season:

• FOOTBALL LEAGUE : 75 matches from across the npower Football League.
• PLAY OFFS : The npower Football League Play-Offs – including all three Finals.
• CARLING CUP : 15 matches from the Carling Cup, including both legs of each Carling Cup semi-final and the Carling Cup Final from Wembley Stadium.
• JOHNSTONE’S PAINT TROPHY : The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final and at least two matches from the preceding rounds.

Sky Sports will also broadcast highlights and clips of the npower Football League, Carling Cup & Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. The agreement encompasses television, broadband internet, video-on-demand and mobile services.

In announcing the new agreement Football League Chairman Greg Clarke said:

“Sky Sports is a highly valued partner of The Football League and we are delighted to extend our relationship for a further three seasons. They are a class act and our clubs will welcome their continued support.  This has been a challenging climate in which to negotiate television rights, given the state of the economy and the lack of competitive tension in the sports broadcasting market. ”

“I am confident that our clubs will take heart from seeing such a significant ongoing investment in their competitions, despite a reduced level of broadcasting income, as it provides financial certainty in uncertain times.”

Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports said: “Sky Sports has had a long and successful partnership with The Football League. We have seen the growth of attendances, the huge success of the Play-Offs and some wonderful Carling Cup Finals. This new deal will extend the relationship to 2015 and will take us beyond our 1000th live Football League game.”

“Sky Sports will bring viewers more live matches – over 100 a year from across all divisions and each of The League’s competitions – and be the home of live npower League, Carling Cup and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy football.”

Tags: Barney Francis, Carling Cup, Football League, Sky Sports