A selection of Blackburn Rovers' Championship fixtures could be shown live on ITV next season after the broadcaster agreed a deal in principle with Sky Sports and the EFL to offer free-to-air coverage of Carabao Cup and Championship fixtures.

From January 2025, starting with the Carabao Cup semi-finals, until the end of the 2026/27 season, ITV will jointly broadcast several games also available on Sky Sports.

This is the first time live Championship matches have been accessible on free-to-air television since the 2011/12 season.

As part of the agreement, ITV will screen five matches from the Championship in 2024/25 and then 10 in the following two seasons, plus at least nine Carabao Cup ties.

Sky Sports’ coverage of the EFL from next season will dramatically increase under the new deal with 1,059 matches to be shown live. That is four times as many matches as last season and all 72 teams will feature more than 20 times a season.

ITV have been the home of EFL highlights for the last two seasons and that arrangement is continuing for the forthcoming campaign, by broadcasting 55 highlights programmes per season.

“This deal brings viewers free-to-air coverage of top-level knockout football over the coming years, as well as standout matches from the EFL, adding regular live matches to our highlights shows,” said Niall Sloane, ITV Director of Sport.

“We’re looking forward to bringing fans some superb action and insight from this new, fuller EFL package across the next few seasons.”

The new broadcast deal, which is worth £935million to the EFL over five seasons, does mean more matches will be moved from the usual Saturday 3pm slot, though no new times have been suggested.

“We’re delighted to continue a long-standing relationship with ITV, in partnership with Sky Sports, to deliver an added showcasing of the best of the EFL to a wider audience,” said Trevor Birch, Chief Executive Officer of the EFL.

“We want the EFL to be accessible to as many audiences as possible, and this extra offering, with no additional subscription required, only enhances our reputation. I’d like to thank both organisations for their ongoing support and genuine commitment to all EFL competitions.”