The Championship is one of the most competitive and unpredictable leagues in world football, with 24 clubs battling across 46 fixtures each season for promotion to the Premier League, safety from relegation to League One, and the drama of the play-offs in between. With Sky Sports holding the exclusive live rights to EFL football in the UK through a landmark five-year deal that runs to 2028-29, Championship fans have more opportunities to watch their club on television than at any point in the history of the competition.
This page covers everything you need to know about watching Championship football on TV in 2026/27, including how to access the coverage, which channels to find it on, what the Sky Sports deal includes, and how ITV fits into the picture as the free-to-air broadcaster.
Championship 2026/27 Season Key Dates
The 2026/27 EFL Championship season is scheduled to start on the weekend of 14 to 16 August 2026, with the season running through to the final day on 8 May 2027. The EFL will release the full fixture list on Thursday 25 June 2026 at 12pm, at which point clubs and fans will be able to see their complete schedule for the season. The Carabao Cup begins slightly earlier, with EFL clubs entering the competition in the first round during the weekend of 7 to 9 August 2026.
It is worth noting that when the fixture list is first published, all games will show at standard times. As the season progresses, Sky Sports will select matches for live broadcast and adjust kick-off times accordingly, with up to five Championship matches rescheduled each week for television. The final day of the season on 8 May 2027 will not be adjusted, with all 12 games kicking off simultaneously in the traditional format.
Who Are the Championship Clubs in 2026/27?
Three clubs were relegated from the Premier League at the end of 2025-26, with Burnley, Wolves and West Ham all dropping down to the Championship. They join a division that will also include clubs promoted from League One over the summer. Frank Lampard’s Coventry City were confirmed as Championship champions for 2025-26, with Ipswich Town claiming automatic promotion in second place, meaning both clubs will be competing in the Premier League next season. Hull City completed the top-flight trio after beating Middlesbrough in a dramatic play-off final at Wembley.
The 2026-27 Championship therefore includes three newly relegated Premier League sides competing alongside established Championship clubs, which historically produces some of the most watched and bet-upon fixtures of the season on Sky Sports.
How to Watch Championship Football on TV
Sky Sports holds the exclusive live broadcast rights to EFL football in the UK under a deal worth £935 million over five years, which runs from the 2024-25 season through to 2028-29. That agreement represented a 50 per cent increase in value on the previous deal and transformed the volume of live EFL coverage available to fans, with over 1,000 matches broadcast each season across the Championship, League One and League Two.
Championship matches are shown primarily on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event, with the most high-profile fixtures often simulcast across both channels. Sky holds live rights to a minimum of 328 Championship matches per season, meaning every club in the division is guaranteed to be shown live at least 20 times across the campaign. That figure represents a dramatic increase on the previous arrangement, which covered only 138 EFL league games per season in total.
Sky Sports Subscription
Sky Sports can be added to an existing Sky TV package, giving subscribers access to all nine Sky Sports channels including Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event and the dedicated EFL coverage that runs across the season. Sky customers can also access matches through the Sky Sports app on smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and games consoles, making it straightforward to follow games away from home.
Sky Sports+
The introduction of Sky Sports+ has been the biggest change to EFL broadcasting in recent years, significantly expanding the number of live matches available beyond the main broadcast picks. Sky Sports+ carries the overflow of live EFL content and is included with Sky Sports subscriptions, giving fans access to games that would previously not have been televised at all. Under the current deal, more than 1,000 EFL games per season are live across the Sky Sports network, with Sky Sports+ handling a substantial portion of that volume.
NOW (Formerly NOW TV)
For fans who do not want to commit to a full Sky TV subscription, NOW provides flexible, contract-free access to all Sky Sports channels including the full EFL coverage. Day memberships and monthly passes are both available, making it possible to dip in and out of coverage around specific fixtures or high-stakes periods of the season such as the run-in or the play-offs. NOW can be accessed on most internet-connected devices including smart TVs, laptops, phones and tablets.
ITV and Free-to-Air Coverage
ITV serves as the free-to-air partner for EFL football under the current broadcast agreement, which runs through to the end of 2026-27. As part of that deal, ITV broadcasts ten live Championship matches per season, with those fixtures simulcast alongside Sky Sports and available to anyone with a standard television licence and no subscription. The matches selected for ITV are typically among the most high-profile fixtures of the season, giving non-subscribers at least some access to live Championship action.
In addition to live matches, ITV broadcasts the EFL Highlights programme every Saturday night on ITV4 at 9pm, offering a fast-paced summary of all the day’s Championship, League One and League Two action. The programme is repeated on ITV1 later the same evening and again on Sunday morning, so there are multiple opportunities to catch up on the day’s goals and results even for those who missed the live broadcast.
Championship TV Schedule: When Are Games On?
Championship matches are selected for television throughout the week, with the most common broadcast slots across the season being Friday evenings at 8pm, Saturday lunchtimes at 12:30pm, Tuesday evenings at 7:45pm and Wednesday evenings at 8pm. Sky Sports also picks Championship matches on Bank Holidays, during international breaks and on the opening weekend and final day of the season, all of which are guaranteed to be broadcast live under the terms of the Sky deal.
The Saturday 3pm blackout remains in place for Championship football, meaning no games with a 3pm Saturday kick-off can be shown live on television in the UK. This rule, which has been in place since the early days of football broadcasting, is designed to protect lower-league attendances. Matches moved to 12:30pm or later afternoon and evening slots on Saturdays are not affected by the blackout and can be broadcast freely.
Championship Play-Offs on TV
All Championship play-off matches are broadcast live on Sky Sports, from the semi-final first legs through to the final at Wembley. For 2025-26, the semi-finals were played between 8 and 15 May 2026, with the final taking place on 23 May 2026. The play-off final is one of the most watched single-game football broadcasts of the year in the UK, consistently drawing large audiences given the prize on offer, which has been valued by economists at well over £200 million in terms of the revenue difference between the Championship and the Premier League.
From 2026-27, the Championship play-off format is expanding for the first time, with six clubs now competing for the third and final promotion place rather than four. This change, confirmed by the EFL in March 2026, adds an extra round to the play-off competition and increases the number of live broadcast games available at the end of the season, which will be welcomed by Sky Sports given the level of interest those matches typically attract.
Frequently Asked Questions
What channel is the Championship on?
Championship matches are shown live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. A selection of fixtures are also shown on ITV and ITV4 as part of the free-to-air broadcast agreement, which includes ten live games per season and the weekly EFL highlights programme.
How many Championship games are on TV?
Sky Sports broadcasts a minimum of 328 Championship matches per season as part of the five-year EFL deal that runs to 2028-29. Combined with the matches carried on Sky Sports+, the total number of live EFL matches across all three divisions exceeds 1,000 per season.
Can I watch Championship games without a Sky subscription?
Yes, in two ways. NOW provides contract-free access to all Sky Sports channels including EFL coverage, with day memberships and monthly passes available at lower cost than a full Sky subscription. ITV also broadcasts ten live Championship matches per season for free, alongside the weekly EFL highlights programme on ITV4 every Saturday evening at 9pm.
Are the Championship play-offs on TV?
Yes, all Championship play-off matches including the Wembley final are broadcast live on Sky Sports. Sky customers can watch via their TV package or through the Sky Sports app, while non-subscribers can access coverage through NOW.
When does the 2026/27 Championship season start?
The 2026/27 Championship season starts on the weekend of 14 to 16 August 2026. Fixtures will be released on 25 June 2026, with Sky Sports broadcast selections and adjusted kick-off times confirmed in the weeks that follow.
More Football on TV
For a full overview of live football across all competitions, visit our Live Football on TV guide, which is updated regularly with the latest broadcast listings. You can also find out which Premier League games are on Sky Sports and keep up with the latest manager movements in the Championship through our Next West Brom Manager Odds and Next Leicester Manager Odds pages.
Season dates and broadcast information correct at time of writing. Please check Sky Sports and the EFL website for the latest fixture selections and kick-off times.
