Five year agreement will see 1,698 games-a-season produced for Sky Sports and international audiences

EFL IMG

IMG has renewed its production deal with the EFL for a further five years.

It will produce 1,698 games-a-season from the Championship, League One, League Two, League Cup, and EFL Trophy from its dedicated EFL production centre at Stockley Park.

1,059 of these will be used by Sky Sports, with 866 of those on exclusively on its streaming service. The remaining games will be for its main channel output. Sky picked up these fixtures in a £935 million deal agreed last year, which brings an end to the EFL’s iFollow service in the UK.

The further 832 matches will be utilised outside of the UK by EFL rights holders Pitch International and Relevent Sports, who will distribute the premium broadcast feed across the world after deals announced in March. Clubs will also be able to offer the elevated output via their own international streaming services to fans of EFL Clubs outside of the UK.

IMG’s new agreement will see six cameras-per-match in the Championship, four cameras in League One and two cameras in League Two – up from four, one and one cameras respectively. League Cup matches will feature a minimum of two cameras plus an up-scaled four-camera set-up for later rounds of the competition. All EFL Trophy matches will remain available to view with a one camera setup until the semi-finals. 

There will also be enhanced post-match highlights packages for partners and clubs, including enriched in-game graphics, alongside features including recaps and highlights from the live match plus games from earlier kick-offs.

IMG and the EFL will work alongside NEP Connect Limited to upgrade existing bandwidth and the infrastructure’s resilience to safeguard the delivery of EFL fixtures to viewers at home and abroad.

EFL chief commercial officer Ben Wright said: “The start of the 2024/25 season, represents an exciting new era for the EFL with record-breaking rights deals at home and abroad that will see a huge number of games broadcast and a new way of watching for fans of EFL clubs.

“It was imperative that our production partner had the experience, expertise and capability to elevate our broadcast output across our competitions and after a thorough RFP process, it was clear that IMG could offer the world class service level required with the track record to match.

“Having started this relationship in 2019, IMG understands the EFL and the needs of its clubs. The enhancement of that relationship with increased output will provide significant benefit to Sky Sports, clubs, partners and other affiliates. The partnership aims to put fans first, innovate and ultimately deliver an enhanced viewing experience for EFL fans everywhere.”       

IMG EVP, Studios, Barney Francis said: “We are proud of everything we have achieved with the EFL over the past five years, entertaining fans with more than 500,000 minutes of thrilling action, highlights packages and broadcast shows, and building a ground-breaking remote production that’s unrivalled in football globally.

“Our work with the EFL and major global football leagues provides unique, in-depth expertise and understanding of the technical solutions, innovations, workflows and reliability required to deliver a project of this scale through a fan-first lens.

“We are excited to take the EFL viewing experience to the next level for fans domestically and around the world, with upscaled production, enhanced coverage and continued innovation.”