The EFL has netted a staggering 40 per cent rise in overseas broadcasting rights – and is set to launch a mission to crack America.
In what is being viewed as a landmark deal, Mail Sport can reveal that the competition is set to pick up a minimum of £148million over the next four seasons to show the game outside the UK.
Clubs are to vote on the offer later on Tuesday, with the matter expected to sail through.
Insiders believe the eye-catching deal reflects the popularity of the Championship, which is one of the most-watched leagues in Europe outside of the Premier League.
The global popularity of the Championship has helped net the EFL a staggering 40 per cent rise in overseas broadcasting rights. Pictured is Leeds United vs Leicester City
The popularity of the Welcome to Wrexham series after Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over the League Two club has also boosted the EFL’s popularity
They also feel that the arrival of Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and the subsequent transformation of Wrexham – which has netted significant sums for documentary makers Disney – have opened the eyes of the world to the storylines unfolding outside the top flight.
Disney are thought to have made more than £400,000 for each episode of Welcome to Wrexham, which has charted the actors’ takeover of the North Wales side and their subsequent return to the league.
Large numbers of EFL clubs now have US owners or investors and many see the competition as a potential growth area.
The deal, in which EFL commercial chief Ben Wright is thought to have been instrumental, has gone down well among many of those who see it is the first glimpse of vindication.
Should the deal be given the green light Relevent will then attempt to sell their packages – which include betting rights – to the US and various other markets.
Eighty per cent of anything they attract above what they have paid will go to the EFL.
Their element of the deal covers 155 Championship matches and a further 37 ‘blocked hours’ matches.
Key to their success will be whether they can attract a rival to traditional broadcaster ESPN and trigger a bidding war.
It comes after the EFL agreed a record domestic rights deal with Sky Sports over five years
Disney are thought to have made over £400,000 for each episode of Welcome to Wrexham
After signing a deal with LaLiga in 2018, Relevent set up a similar joint venture which saw Spain’s top flight create LaLiga North America, aimed at promoting the game in the US and Mexico.
Four of Spain’s top clubs, excluding Real Madrid and Barcelona, played out a competition in the US last summer. An EFL equivalent would come as no surprise.
The rights to sell the EFL elsewhere for the next four years appear to have been won by London-based giants Pitch International.
Last year, the EFL picked up a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935m over five years – with more than 1,000 games to be broadcast each season.
While Relevent also have a history of arranging summer fixtures and tournaments in the US including Premier League sides, insiders are adamant that the prospect of staging EFL matches across the Atlantic has not been part of the discussion and is not being considered.
The EFL declined to comment.
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