THE EFL have agreed a deal with Sky Sports that will see ALL of next season’s games streamed online.
Clubs from the Championship, League 1 and League 2 can now stream their matches live on their websites.
Sky Sports will allow EFL clubs to stream their own matches online next season
Season ticket holders will be able to watch their club’s home games for free while anyone else hoping to tune in will be charged £10 per game.
It is understood 3pm kick-offs will also be included in the deal for the first time.
The move has been made in the hope of offsetting the loss of EFL clubs’ gate receipts while matches are played behind closed doors.
Sky Sports pay £119million per season for exclusive rights to live EFL action, as well as the Carabao Cup, but are understanding of the financial difficulties many clubs are facing without ticket revenue.
Consequently, Sky will allow clubs to stream all games due to be shown live on TV for as long as fans are shut out of stadiums.
The Mail claims this arrangement will be reviewed regularly but is expected to last until stadiums can be filled to 50 per cent capacity.
An October return date has been mooted as the earliest fans can expect to be allowed back into stadiums but this would be at 20 to 30 per cent capacity initially.
In the Championship, the money raised through streaming matches will be retained by the club selling the service.
Due to the varying sizes of clubs’ fanbases, a different revenue-sharing formula will be used in League 1 and League 2.
Premier League clubs this week rejected the opportunity to stream their own matches next season.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk