Freeview viewers will be able to access a selection of live games from the English Football League (EFL) Championship and Carabao Cup starting in 2025.
- ITV extends existing EFL highlights deal
- 5 matches from the 2024-2025 EFL Championship and 10 matches per subsequent season to be shown live on ITV1 or ITV4.
- Sky Sports to screen full set of televised games on Sky Sports+ streaming service.
Sky Sports and ITV have reached an agreement in principle which will give all UK football fans the chance to watch free-to-air coverage of select Carabao Cup and Championship fixtures.
However, the deal won’t start until January 2025. Live coverage will start with the Carabao Cup semi-finals. As part of the deal, ITV will show five live EFL Championship games during the second half of the 2024-25 season.
Then during the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, ITV will broadcast 10 live EFL Championship games per season and at least nine Carabao Cup matches. This will include one tie from each of the first four rounds, one additional tie from either the third and fourth round, two quarter-final ties, one semi-final and the final itself.
The deal will be welcomed by ITV, who faced a hole in its football coverage after losing the rights to show live FA Cup football from the 2025-26 season.
Sky Sports will continue to broadcast the full set of televised football matches. It plans to do so via its new Sky Sports+ streaming service, alongside its traditional Sky Sports Football channel.
Separately, ITV has extended its existing EFL highlights deal for the coming three seasons. The broadcaster will screen at least 55 highlights shows per season.
The deal offers stability in terms of coverage after a decade that has seen the highlights switch between the BBC, Channel 5 and Quest before arriving on ITV.
Where to watch EFL and Carabao Cup free-to-air
ITV’s EFL and Carabao Cup coverage will be shown on either ITV1 or ITV4 and live streamed on ITVX.
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