UK DTT channel Quest has dislodged commercial broadcaster Channel Five as the free-to-air highlights rights-holder for the English Football League, which operates the three divisions of football below the top-tier Premier League, according to the Daily Mail newspaper.
Quest, which is operated by US media group Discovery Communications, will begin its coverage of the EFL – comprising the Championship, League One and League Two – from the start of the 2018-19 season.
The report said the official announcement of the deal will be made after the presenting team and the time of the highlights programme is finalised.
The highlights have been shown on Channel Five at 21.00 on Saturdays since the start of the 2016-17 season. However, according to the newspaper, the show only attracts an average of about 500,000 viewers – half the audience that tuned in to the previous highlights show on UK public-service broadcaster the BBC after its flagship Match of the Day programme.