Clubs from the Championship, English soccer’s second tier, met on Tuesday for a crisis meeting following the announcement of a new five-year deal signed by the Football League (EFL) and Sky Sports.
The terms of the agreement, which is to come into play at the start of the 2019/20 season, had been subject to anger from the EFL’s leading clubs even before the contract was rubber-stamped on Monday. However, the EFL, led by chief executive Shaun Harvey, defied vocal concerns from the league’s trop outfits by signing the UK£595 million deal.
Despite the signing of the agreement – unanimously agreed by the EFL board, the row is set to continue, with a report from UK newspaper the Times stating that some clubs are considering a legal challenge to the deal, while also questioning the future of Harvey, who has been in his chief executive role since 2013.
Beyond the clubs’ frustration surrounding both the length and financial terms of the arrangement with Sky Sports, the Championship sides’ legal case concerns a belief that the EFL should not have signed such an important long-term deal without the ratification of its leading members.
The Times also reports that clubs, which are said to include former Premier League sides Leeds United, Aston Villa and Derby County, have claimed that the terms of the television rights deal have changed significantly from those originally set out.
Although it appears that the threat of a breakaway league has subsided – as had been mooted last week when 15 clubs signed a letter sent to the EFL, 21 clubs are believed to be opposed to the new deal, according to the Times.
A statement released on Tuesday by an unnamed group of Championship clubs said: ‘Championship clubs are gravely concerned that the EFL board has announced it has approved a new long-term domestic broadcasting rights deal. Nineteen clubs from the league wrote to the EFL asking them not to sign the proposed deal and to engage in meaningful discussions. This was ignored.’
It added: ‘There is a calm determination within Championship clubs to ensure the matter is not left here.’
The new contract will run for five seasons from 2019/20, and will see the UK pay-TV broadcaster continue to provide exclusive live coverage of the Championship, League One and League Two divisions, the Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy knockout competitions, and the season-ending promotion play-offs until May 2024.
Additionally, the contract signs off on the EFL’s new iFollow over-the-top (OTT) service, which operates outside of the blocked hours between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturday afternoons for matches not licensed to be broadcast live on television. Sky Sports also retains the right to air 16 Championship fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and an additional eight second tier games on those same evenings that will be broadcast simultaneously to subscribers across the broadcaster's interactive and digital services.
In the last two seasons of the agreement, Sky have the option to increase the number of matches to 158 but must notify the EFL by July 2021, with those broadcasts only coming from weekend fixtures. Should Sky pick up this option they must show each team in the Championship a minimum of three times, up from the current threshold of two. No League One or League Two club will be selected for TV broadcast more than four times, excluding final day matches, per season.
While the new deal involves a 35 per cent financial improvement on the current terms, leading Championship clubs maintain that the contract undervalues the league, and – in its length – fails to consider the ever-changing technological sports broadcasting landscape.
Announcing the deal on Monday, EFL interim chairman Debbie Jevans acknowledged the opposition to the five-year arrangement, but said: “Having considered the matter, its implications and risks, the EFL board is satisfied that the right deal for the EFL and its clubs has been reached.
“Concluding these negotiations has indeed been challenging, as is the case when managing a diverse group of stakeholders, and the board took on board the frustrations voiced by a number of clubs and has committed to reviewing the way the League engages with its clubs to ensure that we move forward in a collaborative way.”
Harvey also added: “It is a partnership that, as well as having the necessary financial benefits, provides the EFL with the platform to maximise reach and exposure for its competitions, alongside providing further opportunities for clubs to monetise some of those games not broadcast on television through a DTC offering.”
Clubs from the Championship, English soccer’s second tier, met on Tuesday for a crisis meeting following the announcement of a new five-year deal signed by the Football League (EFL) and Sky Sports.
Clubs from the Championship, English soccer’s second tier, met on Tuesday for a crisis meeting following the announcement of a new five-year deal signed by the Football League (EFL) and Sky Sports.
The terms of the agreement, which is to come into play at the start of the 2019/20 season, had been subject to anger from the EFL’s leading clubs even before the contract was rubber-stamped on Monday. However, the EFL, led by chief executive Shaun Harvey, defied vocal concerns from the league’s trop outfits by signing the UK£595 million deal.
Despite the signing of the agreement – unanimously agreed by the EFL board, the row is set to continue, with a report from UK newspaper the Times stating that some clubs are considering a legal challenge to the deal, while also questioning the future of Harvey, who has been in his chief executive role since 2013.
Beyond the clubs’ frustration surrounding both the length and financial terms of the arrangement with Sky Sports, the Championship sides’ legal case concerns a belief that the EFL should not have signed such an important long-term deal without the ratification of its leading members.
The Times also reports that clubs, which are said to include former Premier League sides Leeds United, Aston Villa and Derby County, have claimed that the terms of the television rights deal have changed significantly from those originally set out.
Although it appears that the threat of a breakaway league has subsided – as had been mooted last week when 15 clubs signed a letter sent to the EFL, 21 clubs are believed to be opposed to the new deal, according to the Times.
A statement released on Tuesday by an unnamed group of Championship clubs said: ‘Championship clubs are gravely concerned that the EFL board has announced it has approved a new long-term domestic broadcasting rights deal. Nineteen clubs from the league wrote to the EFL asking them not to sign the proposed deal and to engage in meaningful discussions. This was ignored.’
It added: ‘There is a calm determination within Championship clubs to ensure the matter is not left here.’
The new contract will run for five seasons from 2019/20, and will see the UK pay-TV broadcaster continue to provide exclusive live coverage of the Championship, League One and League Two divisions, the Carabao Cup and Checkatrade Trophy knockout competitions, and the season-ending promotion play-offs until May 2024.
Additionally, the contract signs off on the EFL’s new iFollow over-the-top (OTT) service, which operates outside of the blocked hours between 14:45 and 17:15 on Saturday afternoons for matches not licensed to be broadcast live on television. Sky Sports also retains the right to air 16 Championship fixtures on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and an additional eight second tier games on those same evenings that will be broadcast simultaneously to subscribers across the broadcaster's interactive and digital services.
In the last two seasons of the agreement, Sky have the option to increase the number of matches to 158 but must notify the EFL by July 2021, with those broadcasts only coming from weekend fixtures. Should Sky pick up this option they must show each team in the Championship a minimum of three times, up from the current threshold of two. No League One or League Two club will be selected for TV broadcast more than four times, excluding final day matches, per season.
While the new deal involves a 35 per cent financial improvement on the current terms, leading Championship clubs maintain that the contract undervalues the league, and – in its length – fails to consider the ever-changing technological sports broadcasting landscape.
Announcing the deal on Monday, EFL interim chairman Debbie Jevans acknowledged the opposition to the five-year arrangement, but said: “Having considered the matter, its implications and risks, the EFL board is satisfied that the right deal for the EFL and its clubs has been reached.
“Concluding these negotiations has indeed been challenging, as is the case when managing a diverse group of stakeholders, and the board took on board the frustrations voiced by a number of clubs and has committed to reviewing the way the League engages with its clubs to ensure that we move forward in a collaborative way.”
Harvey also added: “It is a partnership that, as well as having the necessary financial benefits, provides the EFL with the platform to maximise reach and exposure for its competitions, alongside providing further opportunities for clubs to monetise some of those games not broadcast on television through a DTC offering.”
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