The English Football League (EFL), a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales, has partnered with IMG, a global sports & culture company, for a multi-year TV production deal.
This new partnership, effective from the start of the 2024/25 season through the 2028/29 season, signified a major upgrade to the EFL’s broadcast output.
IMG took on the role of the league’s production partner, focused on improving the broadcast and streaming quality across all EFL competitions. This includes the renowned EFL Championship, League One, and League Two, as well as the EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) and the EFL Trophy (Bristol Street Motors Trophy).
The partnership caters to both domestic and international audiences. While Sky Sports retains exclusive domestic broadcast rights, airing 1,059 EFL matches per season (linear TV or streaming), the leading sports and entertainment agency will handle the production of 866 matches for Sky‘s streaming services. Sky will continue to produce the remaining matches.
For the international market, IMG will produce an additional 832 matches per season, with broadcast rights held by Pitch International and Relevant Sports. This brings the total number of EFL broadcasts produced by IMG to an impressive 1,698 per season.
IMG will deploy an increased number of cameras at each EFL game, resulting in a more immersive viewing experience. Additionally, enhanced post-match highlight packages will be created for distribution to media partners and clubs.
Furthermore, the global agency will focus on technical improvements by upgrading the bandwidth available to the EFL and strengthening the broadcast connection infrastructure. This ensures smooth and reliable delivery of matches for viewers around the world.
This renewed partnership builds upon IMG’s existing experience with the EFL. Since 2019, IMG has been producing livestream video broadcasts for the league.
Ben Wright, EFL Chief Commercial Officer, 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.”
Barney Francis, IMG’s EVP of Studios, 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.”
IMG, a global leader in sports and culture, is a powerhouse with ventures in many industries. The sports and entertainment conglomerate manages the careers of athletes and celebrities, organizes and sells tickets for live events, and even creates and distributes sports media content. The media and marketing powerhouse’s reach spans over 35 countries. The talent agency leverages its global network to connect fans, brands, and athletes for a mutually beneficial experience.