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Seven of Stoke City's first nine games on TV as Championship nears blanket coverage It is the era for armchair supporters as Stoke City prepare to start season It is as recently as September 1993 that Stoke City had a league match broadcast live on television for the first time. It is remarkable considering that seven of their first nine games in 2026/27 will be on the box. It would be nine of the first 11 if they make it to the third round of the Carabao Cup. By the 2020s it was no longer a novelty when Stoke were on television but even in 2022/23 and 2023/24 they were only shown live five times per campaign. There were 33 league matches that kicked off at 3pm in 2023/24. That all changed dramatically following an EFL deal with Sky Sports – agreed in May 2023 – that has revolutionised the Championship calendar. Stoke played 31 games on TV in 2024/25, with 21 matches kicking off at 3pm and 13 at 12.30pm. They were shown live 27 times in 2025/26, with 25 games kicking off at 3pm and nine at 12.30pm. FOLLOW OUR FACEBOOK PAGE! Latest Stoke City news, analysis and more via the Sentinel There is a guarantee that every club will be shown live at least 20 times this term and the 12.30pm count is up to six up to the end of December. Cup games, mid-week dates and bank holidays meant hat Stoke will be on at least 16 times in all before the turn of the year. The EFL had been confident that attendances would be unaffected – and that seems to have been proven the case so far, at least in tickets sold if not always numbers in the stadium. Stoke’s average home attendance in the league has gone up from 22,742 in 2023/24 to 23,698 last season. In the Carabao Cup, Stoke had crowds of 8,809 (vs Walsall) and 9,947 (vs Bradford) last season. In 2023 they had 10,583 (vs West Brom) and 9,410 (vs Rotherham). There was 7,290 in for a home tie vs Huddersfield in 2018. It remains to be seen what Stoke's attendance will be when they open the doors for a first round tie against Oldham Athletic on Saturday (3pm) but it is a safe bet there will be a decent number in the following week against Swansea. The two of the first nine that are not on the box, by the way, are away at Southampton and Watford. Stoke matches on TV up to January 2027 Saturday, August 8, 3pm: Stoke vs Oldham Athletic - Carabao Cup first round (Sky Sports+) Saturday, August 15, 3pm: Stoke vs Swansea (Sky Sports+) Saturday, August 29, 12.30pm: Wolves vs Stoke City (Sky Sports+) Tuesday, September 1, 8pm: Stoke vs Norwich (Sky Sports Football) Saturday, September 5, 12.30pm: Stoke vs Charlton (Sky Sports+) Tuesday, September 8, 7.45pm: Cardiff vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) Saturday, September 19, 12.30pm: Stoke vs Sheffield United (Sky Sports+) Tuesday, October 13, 8pm: Stoke vs Middlesbrough (Sky Sports Football) Saturday, October 31, 12.30pm: Stoke vs Preston (Sky Sports Football) Tuesday, November 3, 7.45pm: Blackburn vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) Saturday, November 7, 12.30pm: Portsmouth vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) Wednesday, November 25, 8pm: Stoke vs Millwall (Sky Sports Football) Wednesday, December 9, 7.45pm: Lincoln vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) Saturday, December 12, 12.30pm: Stoke vs West Brom (Sky Sports Football) Tuesday, December 29, 7.45pm: Bristol City vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) Friday, January 1, 3pm: West Brom vs Stoke (Sky Sports+) What the EFL has said about the coverage Rick Parry told The Sentinel: “We’ve got to be very mindful of the impact for clubs but also for Sky because we really want a long-term partnership. It’s really, really important that it works for them. “I think everyone who has tuned into the coverage will see that the product on the screen has been transformed (compared to before the deal) in two respects. One is that we now have multiple camera coverage even down in League Two, the coverage of the games is much more professional. The resource that Sky are committing in terms of studios, the whole thing looks like the premium product that it is. “Instead of being a filler product for Sky, we’ve been elevated to a premium product and that comes across very clearly. “I think clubs have been really positive in terms of the way they have embraced Sky’s requirements; making players, making managers available, the community stories. It’s a brilliant vehicle to be publicising what we do and clubs have really embraced that well.” What do you think? Click HERE to join the debate