dazn Deal To End 3pm Blackout
Dazn is bidding to show every single English Football League match live in the UK and internationally in a deal that would set a significant precedent in football broadcasting.
According to The Times, Dazn’s proposed agreement would see the end of the historic 3pm blackout.
The 3pm blackout rule states that noPremier League or English Football League games can be broadcasted live on television between 2:45pm and 5:15pm on Saturday afternoons. This was introduced in the 1960s to prevent attendances at matches being affected, but has proved controversial in the modern age.
If successful, it would mean that all 1,656 matches a season across the Championship, League One and League Two would be screened live, with the majority of the games retaining the 3pm kick off.
Under existing deals, the Premier League makes 200 matches available to three domestic broadcasters a season, and the EFL 138 games plus the play-offs to Sky Sports.
Dazn is understood to be competing against Sky Sports, the rights holders since 2002, as well as the Nordic streaming giant Viaplay – which has just started showing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s Euro qualifiers – for the next set of broadcast rights from 2024.
The EFL rights are traditionally sold in four-year blocks but DAZN would want at least five years and preferably more.
Other broadcasters are also considering bidding, with the EFL open to a hybrid option where more than one platform shows matches, including possibly a terrestrial broadcaster.
The auction is expected to conclude this summer.
The Sky deal is worth £119m a year but the EFL is aiming to secure more than £200m annually from the new deal.
This is the latest move by Dazn is series of deals within the world of sports broadcasting. It’s biggest agreements of late include a partnership with Anthony Joshua and securing the Indian Premier League rights.
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