Football League signs new TV deal – but it’s controversial
The Football League signs a new TV deal with Sky Television – but it could trigger a revolt amongst clubs.
What’s the big deal?
The details of the new deal are:
- 138 games televised per season
- 20 of these will be from Leagues 1 and 2
- Semi-final and Final of the Checkatrade Trophy to be televised
- Fourteen League Cup ties to be televised
- A five year £595m agreement in total
Football League signs new TV deal
It is not clear how much the deal will benefit League Two sides such as Port Vale but the value of the new deal represents a 35% increase on the previous agreement.
However, several Championship clubs are understood to be angry with the agreement and believe they are worth more.
According to a BBC report “a number of the Championship’s larger clubs feel it undervalues how much the rights are worth and will meet on Tuesday to discuss their next move.”
The Guardian adds that “up to 15 Championship clubs wanted to reject the Sky offer, believing it tied the league in too long and was not worth enough money.”
Football League interim chair Debbie Jevans said in a statement that she will review how the league discusses future deals with clubs as a result of the concerns. She commented: “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 comments and 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 in the future.”