[BBC] 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. What are the EFL's opening weekend 3pm fixtures? Middlesbrough begin their 2026-27 Championship campaign at home to Wrexham on Saturday [Getty Images] Championship
Bristol City v Millwall Charlton Athletic v Derby County Middlesbrough v Lincoln City Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers Stoke City v Swansea City
League One
Barnsley v Bromley Blackpool v Wycombe Wanderers Bradford City v Peterborough United Burton Albion v Stevenage Cambridge United v Wigan Athletic Huddersfield Town v AFC Wimbledon Leyton Orient v Sheffield Wednesday Mansfield Town v Doncaster Rovers Plymouth Argyle v Stockport County
League Two
Accrington Stanley v Colchester United Barnet v Salford City Cheltenham Town v Rotherham United Chesterfield v Fleetwood Town Crawley Town v Crewe Alexandra Gillingham v Walsall Grimsby Town v Exeter City Northampton Town v Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers v Shrewsbury Town York City v Bristol Rovers
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