Football fans will be able to enjoy Saturday prime-time highlights from the Football League from the beginning of next season, following a deal between the Football League and Channel 5.
The deal, which lasts for three years will see Match footage, including every single goal, from matches in all three divisions of the Sky Bet Football League will be broadcast in a new 90 minute show aired at 9.00pm every week. Currently, the Football League highlights are shown around midnight on BBC One and repeated on Sunday mornings.
Channel 5 will also broadcast highlights of the Capital One Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy.
Potentially, the major difference in coverage will be the lack of HD on free-to-air platforms. Currently Channel 5 HD is restricted to pay TV platforms, although it has in the past indicated that it was looking at making its HD channels available on Freeview in the future.
The Football League's Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, said:
“This is an exceptional opportunity for The Football League to work with a broadcaster that will schedule our matches in a prime-time slot. It will take our games to a wider, younger audience by giving us the chance to be first in front of fans on a Saturday night.”
David Lynn, President of Channel 5’s parent company, Viacom International Media Networks UK said:
“We are extremely happy to be welcoming back top quality football to such a prominent slot on Channel 5. The Football League is one of the toughest and most attractive club competitions in world football and we’re convinced this highlights package will prove highly popular with a mainstream audience at the heart of our Saturday evening schedule.”
Match footage will be filmed, edited and delivered by the League’s new production partner ITN Productions. As part of a multi-million pound three-year contract, ITN Productions will cover the Sky Bet Championship, Sky Bet League 1, Sky Bet League 2, Capital One Cup and Johnstone’s Paint Trophy matches - a total of 1,813 games per season across Football League and Premier League grounds.
ITN Productions will also produce digital clips and highlights content of The Football League's competitions for use by domestic broadcasters (Sky Sports & Channel 5), international broadcasters (through Pitch International) and clubs (through their online Player service), as well as clips of Premier League matches for top flight clubs that are part of the League’s FLi network of club websites.
