Have they yet published what the times will be? And just to clarify this is referring to the deal which starts for 2024/2025 season?
The new one, although there seem to be some strange rescheduling for the start of the new season. On the first weekend there are four live games, including Southampton finishing a game in Sheffield at 21:45 Friday night, and Ipswich finishing a game in Sunderland at 19:15 Sunday evening. Good luck getting home from them by public transport.
The new deal will be still worse, with five championship games per weekend on live TV but the 3pm Saturday blackout period retained. It looks like the five times slots will be one on Friday evening, one on Saturday lunchtime, and the other three on Sunday, unless Sky don't have a Monday night premier league game to show
The quote from the Chief Exec of the EFL welcoming the new deal is:
“After completing an extensive tender and negotiation process, this is a landmark broadcast deal for EFL clubs, establishing the League as a premium partner with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports.
“The EFL is an iconic sports property and one of the biggest and best attended Leagues in European football. This increased investment and coverage from Sky Sports will showcase much more of our compelling match action to fans, while delivering record rights values as we seek to make our clubs sustainable at all levels.
“For decades, Sky Sports has been a fantastic broadcast partner for both the EFL and English football, helping our sport grow through its sustained support, so we are delighted to announce this innovative agreement that combines the strength of an established brand with a modern streaming service for the benefit of EFL clubs, fans and Sky Sports alike.
“With some 20 million attending Sky Bet EFL matches each season and significant interest in the League at home and abroad, we look forward to growing our collective fanbase further and we’d like to thank Sky Sports for its ongoing commitment to the clubs and the communities which this investment will directly support.”
It beggars belief to think that a man who has worked as an executive for a number of premier league teams, and seen at first hand the impact of ever-increasing amounts of TV money flooding the game, can say this money will help make clubs sustainable, rather than go into the hands of players and their agents.