The English Football League has announced a new broadcast initiative that will allow fans to watch coverage of their team playing away from home during midweek.
A newly installed fibre-optic network, which will eventually link all club stadia, will allow matches to be beamed back to grounds live in high-definition. The Football League said this network ‘vastly’ reduces the price of broadcasting an away match.
Clubs will be given the opportunity to utilise the network and broadcast live coverage of matches in their own stadia.
The new service is currently open to Championship second-tier clubs, with League 1 third-tier sides being connected to the network during the 2014-15 season. Fourth-tier League 2 clubs will connected during the 2015-16 season.
The service is only fully available for midweek matches. Clubs will only be permitted to broadcast matches played at 3pm on Saturdays in exceptional circumstances, as such games fall within the blocked hours under regulations set by European football’s governing body Uefa.
AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County have already been confirmed as clubs that will take part.
The first match to be broadcast through the new service will be Leeds United v Brighton on August 19.