The ITV deal means that selected Bristol City Championship matches can be shown for free

Bristol City’s Championship games could be broadcast live on ITV next season after the broadcaster agreed a deal in principle with Sky Sports and the EFL to provide free coverage of selected Carabao Cup and Championship games.

From January 2025, starting with the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup until the end of the 2026/27 season, ITV will co-broadcast a number of games also available on Sky Sports. As part of the deal, ITV will show five Championship games in 2024/25 and then 10 over the next two seasons, plus at least nine Carabao Cup ties.

Sky Sports’ coverage of the EFL next season will increase dramatically under the new deal, with 1,059 matches to be broadcast live – four times as many matches as now and all 72 teams featured more than 20 times per season.

ITV has been the home of EFL highlights for the past two seasons and this arrangement continues for the upcoming campaign, with 55 highlights programs broadcast per season.

“This offer gives viewers free coverage of top-level knock-out football for years to come, as well as outstanding EFL matches, adding regular live matches to our flagship shows,” said Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport. “We look forward to providing fans with superb action and insight from this new and more complete EFL package over the next few seasons.”

The new broadcasting deal, worth £935m to the EFL over five seasons, means more unorthodox kick-off times to allow more games to be televised. Sky will show 10 games each match weekend, including five in the Championship.

“We are delighted to continue a long-standing relationship with ITV, in partnership with Sky Sports, to further showcase the best of the EFL to a wider audience,” said Trevor Birch, chief executive of the EFL.

“We want EFL to be accessible to as many audiences as possible, and this additional offering, without an additional subscription, only enhances our reputation. I would like to thank both organizations for their continued support and genuine commitment to all EFL competitions.”

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