Celtic has decided not to participate in an SPFL contract that would give subscription channel Premier Sports the rights to broadcast 20 live Scottish Premiership matches. This decision has ruled out the possibility of the highly anticipated match against Aberdeen at Parkhead next Saturday being televised.
Sky Sports is allowed to visit each stadium a maximum of five times per season, and they have already been to Parkhead twice, having selected their fixtures in early September, prior to Aberdeen’s impressive 13-game winning streak.
An agreement with Premier Sports allowed the Irish broadcaster to show up to two additional games from any Premiership venue, raising hopes for more significant SPFL fixtures to be aired live.
Celtic was offered £75,000 for each additional home game, totaling a maximum of £150,000 for two games. However, they were hesitant to inconvenience season-ticket holders and fans traveling from farther away by moving more Saturday 3pm matches to later times. The club did not comment on the situation last night.
Under their agreement with Sky that runs until 2029, Sky holds the first option on two bundles of 10 SPFL games at a cost of £4 million each starting this season. When Sky opted not to take up the option, the rights were made available to other broadcasters. Although the deal with Premier does not reach the financial levels of the Sky agreement, 11 out of the 12 clubs voted to accept the offer to increase live game coverage, citing a desire to enhance viewership and showcase more matches, such as the Dundee and Edinburgh derbies.
Celtic’s decision represents the second instance of a major club rejecting a collective commercial agreement. This follows a long-standing dispute between the SPFL, Rangers, and Park’s Motor Group regarding title sponsorship, which was resolved last year after an apology and compensation payment to Rangers.
The effects of later kick-off times for televised matches were evident when Premier Sports aired Rangers’ 2-0 victory over St Johnstone at Ibrox on Sunday night, attracting an attendance of 44,744—around 7,000 short of capacity. The match was rescheduled to accommodate the Great Scottish Run earlier in the day, resulting in the Glasgow Underground shutting down at 6 pm, leaving supporters with limited transport options late Sunday night.
Neil Doncaster, the league’s chief executive, expressed a desire to balance increasing live game broadcasts while maintaining high attendance figures, noting that the Premier deal is “tremendous news for SPFL clubs and supporters alike.” He highlighted that up to 80 Premiership matches will be broadcast live next season across Sky Sports and Premier Sports, marking the highest number of live matches ever shown from the Scottish Premiership.
Meanwhile, discussions between broadcasters and Viaplay continue regarding live coverage of Scotland’s Nations League matches against Croatia and Portugal. Viaplay currently holds the rights to all international qualifiers involving Steve Clarke’s team until 2028. However, despite exiting the UK market last year, negotiations to sub-license the rights for the upcoming double-header with Premier Sports, BBC Scotland, and ITV have yet to reach a successful agreement.
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