Global sports and entertainment agency IMG has announced a new multi-year TV production deal with English soccer’s EFL, the organizer of the country’s second, third, and fourth-tier soccer competitions.
IMG will serve as the production partner from the beginning of the 2024-25 campaign through to the end of the 2028-29 season, in a renewal.
The agency will look to improve both broadcast and streaming quality of the EFL Championship, League 1, and League 2 competitions, as well as the two cup competitions the body organizes, the EFL Cup (known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons), and the EFL Trophy (known as the Bristol Street Motors Trophy for sponsorship reasons).
Exclusive domestic broadcast rights holder Sky Sports airs 1,059 EFL matches per season on linear TV or streaming, 866 of which will now be produced by IMG for streaming purposes, while Sky will continue to produce the remainder.
IMG will also produce a further 832 matches per season for international broadcasts, the rights to which are held by Pitch International and Relevant Sports, meaning that IMG will produce a total of 1,698 EFL broadcasts per season.
These broadcasts will feature an increase in cameras in the multi-camera setups at each EFL game, as well as enhanced post-match highlights packages for dissemination among media partners and constituent clubs, to enhance the quality.
IMG will also work to upgrade the bandwidth available to the EFL and the broadcast connection infrastructure, in order to safeguard broadcasts and ensure the delivery of matches.
Speaking on the partnership, EFL chief commercial officer Ben Wright stated: “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.”
IMG has been a partner of the EFL since 2019, producing livestream video broadcasts for the body.
Wright continued: “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.”
