Sunderland’s fixture list for the 2024/25 campaign is set to change massively thanks to a new TV deal with Sky Sports.
On Wednesday, massive news broke around the EFL surrounding next season’s TV schedules.
In May 2023, Sky Sports was overwhelmingly approved by the EFL clubs to enter a five-year deal broadcasting deal worth £935 million.
This deal was set to come into effect for the 2024/25 campaign lasting until the end of the 2028/29 season.
Now, as the current campaign reaches its conclusion across the EFL, details have been released on what Sky Sports’ new deal will entail.
Sky Sports are set to broadcast Sunderland 23 times a season
The Radio Times reported that starting from the 2024/25 campaign, 1059 matches are set to be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
As part of this deal, every Championship, League One and League Two team will be shown a minimum of 20 times next season. However, it is expected that every Championship side will be selected around 24 times.
However, no new time slots will be selected for these games with the 3pm blackout remaining. As a result, six matches from the EFL will be broadcast every Saturday at 12:30, one game on Friday evening and Sunday lunchtime plus an additional two matches filtered into one of the slots.
On top of this, all 36 opening weekend matches will be broadcast live.
These are set to be shown on Sky Sports Football and the newly created Sky Sports+ with each game set to have commentary and multiple cameras.
All televised fixtures before January 2025 will be announced before the start of the season with a further announcement in November 2024 which will confirm the TV matches up until March 2025. After this, Sky will revert to its traditional process of selecting matches.
The Sunderland Echo reported that the Black Cats should expect to earn 46% more on the current deal.
Read more: Everything we know about Sunderland’s 2024/25 pre-season plans.
New deal could be divisive among Sunderland fans
While there is no doubt that Sky Sports have improved on many aspects of their old deal, there is still a lot to be desired.
It is likely that Sunderland will now play many of their fixtures at 12:30 on a Saturday which is far from ideal for an away fixture.
While Sky Sports will give long-term notice throughout the majority of the season, for the fixtures in March, April and May this could prove troublesome.
On top of this, the Stadium of Light may see a significant drop in atmosphere if fans choose to watch the game at home rather than at the stadium.
While the long-term effects of the deal could see extra money pumped into the club, it could in turn reduce the experience for match-going fans.