If offer is successful it could mean the end of the 3pm blackout

Championship image

DAZN has reportedly bid to air 1,656 EFL games live, potentially putting an end to the 3pm blackout. 

This presumably does not include cup games, which take the organisation’s total fixtures up to 1,891, with The Times reporting that DAZN would show 1,656 matches live - still a vast increase on the current amount shown by Sky Sports. Games from the Carabao Cup, pictured above, and EFL Trophy would possibly not all be aired.

The report claims the streaming platform is competing against Sky Sports and Viaplay - with BT Sport/TNT Sports expected to also make a bid. The EFL is open to more than one broadcaster holding its rights, as said by EFL chief commercial officer Ben Wright  when he spoke to Broadcast Sport about its strategy in October, which you can read in full here. He also said that the EFL is open to global deals like that between Apple and MLS, and ending the 3pm blackout.

Wright explained: “I think there’s a number of factors. The one thing we’ve got is a lot of volume. So 1,656 league matches alone, and on an average weekend at the moment in the UK, which is our biggest market, we’re making 5%, that product available live in 2022. Is that a contemporary approach?

“That’s a key thing, are we are we matching consumer demand? We did a lot of research, and there’s a demand for more content from fans.”

He added on the 3pm blackout: “We’ve looked at making all [matches] available, and we’ve also looked at different scenarios. We’ve also had conversations about making portions or elements of that available and still leaving an element of that protected.

“That might mean that we move a percentage of each division, or it might be that we move X number of clubs’ home matches per season, or that the clubs have the ability, should they wish to, to move out of the window and stream or broadcast themselves. But at the moment, what we’re trying to do is get options around that, more than a fixed position.”

DAZN is also aiming for a longer deal than the usual four years, and if a deal went through it would play into CEO Shay Segev’s recent announcement that the UK is a “high priority” market for the company.

The EFL recently launched its invitation to tender for its rights from the 2024/25 season onwards. The original request for proposals drew interest as it made clear that the organisation is open to ending the 3pm blackout by airing all of its matches.