All opening EFL fixtures to be shown live on Sky Sports due to blackout loophole

The first round of fixtures in the English Football League will be broadcast by Sky Sports next season, despite most kicking off at 3pm. The spot is traditionally part of a blackout where matches cannot be televised from 14:25 to 17:25 on a Saturday.

But that is not a problem with no Premier League matches clashing. The EFL gets underway two weeks before the top-flight kicks off in August.

And a split-start has been introduced as League One and Two begin the season on August 1. The Championship will then start its proceedings seven days later.

And each division will see its entire first weekend televised, as first reported by The Guardian. League One and Two will see five games televised in the second week of action.

It will see the EFL greater exposure without the distraction of Premier League football, in an expanded television deal. Blackout rules come into action when 50 per cent of games in the top two divisions kick off at 3pm on Saturday, per Uefa’s article 48.

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The 2025/26 fixtures are announced at midday on Thursday with the precise details of televised fixtures for the first six gameweeks to be confirmed by July 3. It is said that that any televised matches and alterations to fixtures will be announced before the start of the season - for games up until the FA Cup third round.

Picks for the second half of the season, from that point, are set to be announced in November. It marks an effort to avoid fan frustration at last-minute changes.

The opening weekends of broadcast come as Sky Sports increases its Premier League offering up to 215 matches. Matches taking place away from 3pm will be televised live in the division, with up to seven available each weekend.

The blackout rule is set to remain for the duration of the latest Premier League television deal. The rule introduced in 1960 will remain at least until the deal ends in 2029.

The 2025/26 season marks the second season of a five-year domestic broadcast deal with Sky Sports for the EFL. More than 1,000 games are set to be broadcast live.

Each League weekend fixture round will see 10 live EFL fixtures shown. This will be comprised of five matches in the Sky Bet Championship and five from Sky Bet League One and League Two.

The agreement is worth £935m for EFL clubs over the period. That is a £300m increase from the previous five-year offering.

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