Why are EFL matches at 3pm on Saturday being shown on TV?

A total of 25 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two kicking off at 15:00 BST on Saturday will be shown live on television in the United Kingdom.That time slot is usually barred from live broadcasting due to what is known as the '3pm blackout', meaning matches taking place between 14:45 and 17:15 are not allowed to be shown on television.The ruling comes from Uefa's Article 48. It allows a nation's football association, should they wish, to nominate 'blocked hours' for which matches played in those windows are not allowed to be broadcast domestically.At the request of the Premier League and English Football League, the Football Association enforce this blackout in conjunction with Article 48.Article 48 can only be enforced when 50% of matches in a country's top two divisions are played at the same time. For England, that would be a minimum of 11 matches.With the Premier League not returning this weekend and only six Championship matches starting at 15:00, Article 48 is not enforced, therefore all of those matches are able to be broadcast live domestically.In addition, nine League One matches and 10 League Two matches kick off at the same time. All 25 matches are being broadcast live on Sky Sports.When the Premier League returns on the weekend of 22-23 August, the traditional '3pm blackout' will return.England's use of Article 48 will be reviewed when the next television rights cycle is finalised. The current cycle is enforced until the end of the 2028-29 season.