EFL considering groundbreaking £200m end to Saturday TV blackout for Portsmouth, Ipswich Town, Sunderland, West Brom, Derby County & Co

The league are putting out an invitation to interested parties to bid for the new rights to screen or stream the top four ties from the 2024-25 season.

The likes of major players in the streaming market such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix are said to have been asked to show interest, along with the likes of Sky Sports and BT Sports.

As part of any potential deal, a groundbreaking change could be accommodated to remove the long-held block on showing games live between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on a Saturday.

That has been in place since 1987 ostensibly in an effort to protect attendances at matches, but the debate has been raging about whether now is the right time for a change.

The current deal between Sky and the EFL is worth £119 annually but the view among the EFL board is they can generate as much as £200m per year, according to a report in the Daily Mail yesterday.

The move will have a significant knock-on effect for the iFollow service used by Pompey and most of the clubs in the EFL.

The blackout was lifted successfully with all games streamed when fans couldn’t attend games through the coronavirus pandemic.

A statement from the EFL indicated they wanted to hear from interested parties by November 21.

The statement read: ‘The EFL has today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for interested parties in respect of its broadcast rights.

‘The broadcast rights will be available from the beginning of season 2024/25 when the current five-year agreement with Sky Sports expires.

‘Rights for all 1,891 matches across the League, EFL Cup, EFL Trophy and all end of season Play-Off matches are available for prospective bidders.

‘The League is taking a fresh and new approach to this latest rights cycle, inviting proposals that embrace innovation and offer contemporary solutions that cater for changing audience habits.

‘EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright said: “With 54% of the UK population watching EFL football on television each year and a global audience of more than 400 million, it’s an exciting time to be going to market for the League’s broadcast rights.

“Whilst the appetite for EFL football remains stronger than ever, we want to grow this audience further. We are inviting proposals from organisations that can enhance and develop the League’s offering, taking a new and innovative approach to how people consume EFL content. Alongside the EFL’s rich tradition and distinguished history there is a desire to evolve, grow and innovate in order to grow our audience further and we’re looking for a partner or partners who share that vision.”

Bidders must submit responses by 5pm on 21 November 2022.’