The English Football League has announced it has formally agreed to a five-year domestic broadcasting deal with Sky Sports worth £595m, starting next season.

The deal was unanimously approved by the league’s nine-strong board but is slightly different to the agreement provisionally made with the broadcaster last September. That was for £600m over five seasons and Sky Sports has also obtained eight extra midweek games a season.

Several Championship clubs, including Aston Villa, Derby and Leeds, strongly criticised the original proposal and they are unlikely to be happy with the final agreement.

But the EFL board has decided this is the best option and it will give every club the chance to build their own ‘direct to consumer’ streaming service.

In a statement the EFL’s interim chair, Debbie Jevans, said: “Having fully considered the matter, its implications and any associated risks, the EFL board is satisfied that the right deal for the EFL and its clubs has been reached.

“Concluding these negotiations has indeed been challenging, as is the case when managing a diverse group of stakeholders, and the board took on board the comments and frustrations voiced by a number of clubs and has committed to reviewing the way the league engages with its clubs to ensure that we move forward in a collaborative way in the future.”

That is reference to recent suggestions that up to 15 Championship clubs wanted to reject the Sky offer, believing it tied the league in too long and was not worth enough money.

Some of those clubs are also understood to have threatened to break away from the EFL if the deal was signed.