ITV extends agreement with the Football League

The UK free-to-air broadcaster has agreed a two-year extension to its deal with the Football League that will include an extensive range of highlights programmes on both a regional and local level. Heading the coverage will be a 45-minute weekly show called The Championship, which will be broadcast on the ITV1 channel on Sunday mornings. The programme will feature extended highlights of two games from the top division, goal action and reports from the other matches as well as the key highlights from League One and League Two.  Regionally, viewers will see goals and key action in Saturday afternoon news bulletins and any midweek action will be featured in regional news throughout the week. In addition, the channel will broadcast a regional Thursday night programme showing action from local midweek and weekend games. The broadcaster has also announced plans for a highlights programme covering League Cup games from the third round stage through to the final.