National League plans to introduce streaming service this season after calls from Wrexham's Ryan Reynolds

Last month Wrexham co-owner and Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds said the decision not to allow clubs to ‘expand their fanbase’ and bring in extra revenue was ‘truly baffling.’

His calls received the backing of National League sponsors Vanarama, with a spokesperson saying at the time: “We are in favour of live streaming as long as it benefits all clubs in the league and is what the fans want.

“As the National League’s title sponsor, we will talk to the Vanarama National League and BT Sport to make sure our voice is heard.”

The National League has since held a board meeting and they unanimously approved plans to set the ball rolling.

In a statement they praised current broadcast rights holders BT Sport for their ‘support.’

"The ambition is to have a fully functioning platform launch in the second-half of the season,” the National League said.

It is thought the service will work similar to iFollow, which is used in the EFL.

“The current broadcast rights, which includes streaming, are currently held by our broadcast partner BT Sport,” The National League said.

“We have been working closely with them over the past few months to secure an agreement whereby non televised matches could be streamed on a league platform, also respecting the need to comply with Article 48 restrictions.

“BT Sport have been incredibly supportive in this vision, for which we are extremely grateful. Following board approval, we will now be progressing matters to contractually cement that position.

“After several months of considering the options and appropriate due diligence the board were presented with a detailed report which, having received proposals from a number of potential partners including market leaders and which also included speaking with organisations who have successful experience in streaming, a series of recommendations were made.

“The board unanimously approved all recommendations and have tasked the commercial committee to immediately progress this work, finalise contractual arrangements and confirm timelines.

“This is an exciting project but would not be possible without the co-operation of BT Sport and the support of our key title sponsors Vanarama.

“We are excited to move this forward promptly and will give regular updates as to the progress of the project.”