ITV set for major EFL highlights shake-up which will impact Portsmouth, Southampton, Ipswich, Bradford & Co

It enables fans across the country to tune in and watch their side in action, or simply to recap on the afternoon’s play, with a bit of analysis from former players thrown into the mix as well.

But that will soon change, with ITV announcing a major shake-up in their Saturday evening EFL Highlights Show.

The current format, which can be watched on ITV4 at 9pm during the season, sees Hugh Woozencroft or Jules Breach present the action along with studio guests, who give their verdicts on the afternoon’s games from across the Football League.

Regular pundits include Sam Parkin, Jamie Mackie and Dean Ashton. Meanwhile, former Pompey boss Danny Cowley has also made a number of appearances on the programme. The same show would then be repeated on ITV 1 later in the evening.

However, according to The Mirror, the show is set for a major revamp ahead of the 2023-24 campaign. This will see its running time significantly reduced - turning the package into a quick-fire goal show.

This means the punditry and analysis will be severely cut-back, while it will be presented pitch-side from a different stadium each week - abandoning the traditional studio set-up.

It remains to be seen how long the new formatted show will last, with last year’s program spanning two hours.

ITV are now into their second year of their contract with the EFL - giving them the rights to broadcast the key action from the Championship, League One and League Two.

The television giants brought the rights to showcase highlights after a successful four-year spell on Quest.

In May, the Football League and Sky Sports reached an eye-watering £935m deal to broadcast live matches.

The five-year package, which is set to get under way from the 2024-25 campaign, will significantly enhance exposure to clubs across the EFL, with more than 1,059 contests to be shown exclusively on the channel.

Each season a minimum of 328 Championship matches, 248 League One fixtures, 248 League Two games as well as all 15 play-off ties will be broadcasted live on top of all 93 Carabao Cup contests and all 127 EFL Trophy matches.

Article 48 will remain in place, which means games can’t be shown on TV between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoon’s.

ITV’s current contract to program EFL highlights has entered the final year and it remains to be seen whether the deal will be extended.