What EFL’s bumper new Sky TV deal could mean for Super League and Sky Sports

This year is a big year for rugby league and TV.

The sports’ TV deals with Sky Sports, Channel 4 and Viaplay are all months away from expiring whilst BBC’s deal expires at the end of 2024.

Recently, new RFL Chair Tony Sutton said that there are “lots of potential partners” for the sport in terms of a TV deal.

However, at the time there was no concrete update: “I can’t give an update on the broadcast situation at the moment other than there’s lot of work going on, lots of potential partners being talked to with the aim to maximise coverage and revenue for the game.”

This is because there is a pecking order in terms of TV deals with football being at the top.

However, as reported by the Guardian, English Football League clubs have accepted a £935m deal with Sky Sports.

It is a five-year deal that will start in 2024-25 and expire at the end of the 2028-29 season. It represents a 50% increase on the league’s deal with Sky which expires at the end of next season.

This is good news for rugby league as it means that they now move up the pecking order making negotiations more likely.

The sport will also be hoping for a similar increase but with Sky using a chunk of their budget here it prompts the question how much is left?