{{primary_category}}
{{/primary_category}} 
Kieran Maguire: Sunderland fans face 'huge fees' as £200m deal chased
Sunderland fans could face ‘huge fees’ to watch their side in the Championship with the EFL looking to secure a deal with ViaPlay.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the ongoing talks between the EFL and the Swedish broadcasting company.
According to The Times, Sky Sports are facing competition from ViaPlay over the rights to broadcast EFL matches
Sky Sports’ current £595million deal with the EFL is set to expire at the end of the 2023/24 season and Via Play – who launched in the UK earlier this month – are showing a keen interest in bidding for broadcasting rights.
As reported by SportsProMedia, the EFL is targeting £200million a season from 2024/25 onwards in their new broadcasting deal.
Maguire explains that more broadcasters usually equates to bigger fees for consumers, but believes certain sets of fans could save costs if ViaPlay offers a cheaper service than Sky.
“More packages from more broadcasters usually means huge fees for fans,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“Currently, EFL fans can buy their Sky Sports package and watch their team along with all the other benefits of that broadcaster.
“It could be a double-edged sword, however, if ViaPlay completes the deal as they could offer a much lower price than Sky.
“Fans that only want to watch their team, such as Sunderland for example, could save money through a new broadcast package.
“It would however be irrelevant if Sunderland managed promotion to the Premier League, where even more broadcasters and packages are introduced.
“Consumers are usually the last people considered in these kinds of deals and so we’ll await to see how they’re affected in the coming months.“
In other news, Sunderland set sights on Blackburn Rovers star Bradley Dack