The EFL Championship is finally back for 2026/27 as 24 clubs compete for three spots to be promoted to the Premier League.
Three further teams will also drop into England’s third tier come May, should they finish in the relegation places.
FourFourTwo is here with all the broadcast information you need to watch every game live this season.
Championship broadcasters
The English Football League Championship is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the English footballing pyramid, sitting below the Premier League and contested by 24 professional clubs from England and Wales each year.
This year, the first round is taking place across the weekend of August 14-17, with 12 fixtures spread across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City were all promoted to the Premier League last season, with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and West Ham United all replacing them following their relegation.
Promoted from League One were Lincoln City, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers, with Oxford United, Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday all relegated after 46 games played.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to watch Championship live streams in the UK, US, and around the world, and how you can use a VPN to tune in while you’re abroad.
▶︎ Read More: Bromley vs Leicester and 10 more things to look forward to in the EFL this season
Can you watch the EFL Championship for free?
The Championship will have 10 games that are free-to-air in the UK this season on ITV and the free ITVX streaming service.
In the US, a limited number of games will also be available to watch for free via the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
This week we have two confirmed games on CBS Sports Golazo Network:
- Sheffield United vs Birmingham City | Sat. 15 Aug | 5:30pm BST
- Watford vs Southampton | Sun. 16 Aug | 1:30pm BST
Abroad during the season? You need a VPN to unlock your free stream — find out more below.
How to watch the EFL Championship from abroad
Championship live streams are geo-restricted on all streaming services, but a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a neat way around this, unpicking the geo-locks by altering your device’s digital location. It’s great for accessing your usual streaming services while on the move, and it does wonders for your internet security, too.
NordVPN is the best, so say our good friends across the office at TechRadar.
How to watch the Championship in the UK
Just like in 2025/26, more than 1,000 games across the EFL, Carabao Cup and Vertu Trophy will be broadcast on Sky Sports throughout the 2026/27 campaign.
Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports+ are your destinations
As mentioned above, ITV will have live coverage of at least ten games this term. Matches shown on ITV and ITVX will be completely free.
How to watch the Championship in the US
Paramount+ is the home of the Championship in the USA, with select games available to stream live.
Some matches will also be shown live for free on the CBS Sports Golazo Network.
How to watch the Championship in Australia
Fans in Australia can watch the Championship live on beIN Sports, with games available on the beIN Sports Connect streaming platform.
Plans start from $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year, and you can also take advantage of a one-week free trial.
beIN Sports prices rise by AU$1 per month and AU$10 per year from 1 September.
Other Championship live streams around the world
English football is popular all over the world, so it’s no surprise you can watch Championship live streams in dozens of countries.
Here are a few providers in select locations:
Click to find out more 👇
Africa
Championship coverage in Africa is shown via ESPN Africa.
ESPN Africa has acquired EFL media rights in multiple sub-Saharan African territories from 2024 to 2028.
The network’s multi-year deal covers subscribers in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Canada
DAZN has the rights to Championship live streams in Canada.
Hong Kong
Viewers in Hong Kong can tune into the Championship via beIN Sports.
New Zealand
beIN Sports is your destination to watch the Championship 2026/27 in New Zealand.
Championship — Round 1 Fixtures
All times BST
Friday 14 August
8:00pm — Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Blackburn Rovers
Saturday 15 August
12:30pm — Bolton Wanderers vs Preston North End
3:00pm — Bristol City vs Milwall
3:00pm — Charlton Athletic vs Derby County
3:00pm — Middlesbrough vs Lincoln City
3:00pm — Norwich City vs West Bromwich Albion
3:00pm — Portsmouth vs Queens Park Rangers
3:00pm — Stoke City vs Swansea City
5:30pm — Sheffield United vs Birmingham City
Sunday 16 August
1:30pm — Watford vs Southampton
4:00pm – Burnley vs West Ham United
Monday 17 August
8:00pm — Cardiff City vs Wrexham
What are the key dates for the 2026/27 EFL Championship?
- The action gets underway in the EFL Championship on the weekend of 14-16 August, with Wolverhampton Wanderers hosting Blackburn Rovers on Friday 14 August to kick-start the new season.
- Match Round 6 will be split across two separate midweek dates (w/c 7 and 14 September) to ensure that Championship clubs participating in Carabao Cup Round Three against clubs competing in Europe have a free date to fulfil each fixture.
- The final scheduling won’t be confirmed until after the Carabao Cup Round Three draw.
- The Sky Bet EFL Season will conclude in the Championship on Saturday 1 May 2027 (kick-off 12:30pm) and on Saturday 8 May 2027.
We recommend VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
