Viaplay

[Billy Whizz]

Not sure what this means for Scottish football
They have the rights to the league cup and Scottish Cup, plus the Scottish National team games

https://rxtvinfo.com/2023/crunch-week-for-viaplay/

[H18 SFR]

I wonder if this is another Setanta moment.

[matty_f]

It won’t be good news, that’s for sure. I think most of us will remember the impact of Setanta collapsing.

This is the problem with TV companies buying up Scottish football rights on the cheap.

On the face of it, it looks like good value because you get Rangers and Celtic, and that global interest that comes with them, and there’s no doubt the Old Firm derby (or Glasgow derby…) is a hugely marketable fixture.

But they fail to invest enough in the game to improve the quality all round, so viewers can expect to tune in for Rangers and Celtic routinely dismantling the cannon fodder, which is routinely boring and very quickly becomes of no interest.

So they’re really paying the money for the handful of derbies. They’re too short sighted to see that there are stories and interest elsewhere in the league that could be showcased easily.

If they paid more, clubs would have not to invest and we’d all be able to bring in better players and the league becomes more attractive.

You can’t justify charging £15/month for what is served up just now, imho. It’s not a sustainable model at all and the rest of their offering isn’t up to much.

[Pretty Boy]

Was Premier Sports not just a rehash of Setanta anyway? Their branding and general look was very similar.

It's like both they and those in power in Scottish football never learn. I suppose the saving grace this time is we aren't quite as all in as we were the last time it all went breast skywards.

[ancient hibee]

Not sure what this means for Scottish football
They have the rights to the league and Scottish Cup, plus the Scottish National team games

https://rxtvinfo.com/2023/crunch-week-for-viaplay/

Take it you mean the League CUP and Scottish Cup.For a minute I thought they'd got new rights.

[Jones28]

Was Premier Sports not just a rehash of Setanta anyway? Their branding and general look was very similar.

It's like both they and those in power in Scottish football never learn. I suppose the saving grace this time is we aren't quite as all in as we were the last time it all went breast skywards.

Didn’t ESPN take the rights for a wee while after Setanta fell to *****?

Spot on as usual PB, Scottish football will remain in the doldrums until someone more progressive takes over from Doncaster.

[Billy Whizz]

Take it you mean the League CUP and Scottish Cup.For a minute I thought they'd got new rights.

I do, I’ve edited my post

[Gatecrasher]

it's almost if the SPFL learned F-All from the setanta collapse :rolleyes:

I couldn't care less about ViaPlay, there's too many subscriptions these days.

[Pretty Boy]

Didn’t ESPN take the rights for a wee while after Setanta fell to *****?

Spot on as usual PB, Scottish football will remain in the doldrums until someone more progressive takes over from Doncaster.

The thing about the SPFL is that it's a members organisation so if there was a will amongst the clubs to oust Doncaster then it could be done.

I think that leaves a couple of options. Either the club chairmen and women and CEOs genuinely believe he is doing a good job. Or he's a useful lightning rod who absorbs the flak from fans for collective bad decisions and avoids too much attention being paid to the aforementioned.

[SHODAN]

Viaplay ARE Setanta, they have the same owner (Michael O'Rourke). That guy has done untold damage to Scottish football and I hope we never ****ing work with him again.

[Billy Whizz]

Viaplay ARE Setanta, they have the same owner (Michael O'Rourke). That guy has done untold damage to Scottish football and I hope we never ****ing work with him again.

Are you sure?

[SHODAN]

Are you sure?

https://i.imgur.com/ApTPd7s.png

[Glory Lurker]

The same week it turned out that the orcs were in the right about the cinch thing after all?

[BILLYHIBS]

Aw naw no mair ads before it goes tits up !

[overdrive]

https://i.imgur.com/ApTPd7s.png

Don't think they are anymore in the UK. Viaplay Group, a Swedish company bought Premier Sports UK operations last year hence the rebrand (and one of the reasons why the Swedish company is now in trouble). I think the Irish operations might still be owned by the Setanta lot though but not sure on that one.

[PHeffernan]

Not sure what this means for Scottish football
They have the rights to the league cup and Scottish Cup, plus the Scottish National team games

https://rxtvinfo.com/2023/crunch-week-for-viaplay/

At worst the SPL will have to find new buyers for our two cup competitions broadcasting rights.
Selling the Scottish National team games would be a task for the SFA but interest in the national team is at an all time high so that shouldn't be too hard.

So many people stealing the streaming through IPTV must be having a massive detrimental effect on subscription sales so i'm not surprised Viaplay are struggling.

The only way for the SPL to insulate themselves from this type of situation is to run their own broadcasting, streaming subscription company and that is also frought with danger and the same big issue of the IPTV stealers.

I had to laugh at the knee jerkers blaming Doncaster for this. It reminds me of when some Hibs supporters used to blame Petrie for any and all the clubs ills.

[overdrive]

At worst the SPL will have to find new buyers for our two cup competitions broadcasting rights.
Selling the Scottish National team games would be a task for the SFA but interest in the national team is at an all time high so that shouldn't be too hard.

So many people stealing the streaming through IPTV must be having a massive detrimental effect on sales so i'm not surprised Viaplay are struggling.

The only way for the SPL to insulate themselves from this type of situation is to run their own broadcasting, streaming subscription company and that is also frought with danger and the same issue of the IPTV stealers.

I had to laugh at the knee jerkers blaming Doncaster for this. It reminds me of when some Hibs supporters used to blame Petrie for any and all the clubs ills.

Re the national team, it isn’t the SFA that awards the rights. UEFA do that. The SFA were unfairly getting heat for the national team’s games being on an obscure subscription service when it was UEFA that awarded the contract.

[PHeffernan]

Re the national team, it isn’t the SFA that awards the rights. UEFA do that. The SFA were unfairly getting heat for the national team’s games being on an obscure subscription service when it was UEFA that awarded the contract.

Thanks for that.
I do remember seeing something about that right enough.

[Carheenlea]

I had Sky Sports for couple of years many moons ago, but scrapped it due to high cost.

Since then, there hasn’t been a sports/football subscription channel that I would consider paying for.

I assumed that subscribers to these things must be tumbling at a rate of knots with the rise of IPTV. Be interesting to see what the numbers of subscribers they attract actually is.

[KeithTheHibby]

Re the national team, it isn’t the SFA that awards the rights. UEFA do that. The SFA were unfairly getting heat for the national team’s games being on an obscure subscription service when it was UEFA that awarded the contract.

So how come all England games are on C4 and prior to that ITV?

[overdrive]

So how come all England games are on C4 and prior to that ITV?

Because Channel 4 (and ITV) bid and won the rights to England games. Neither of them won the rights to Scotland games (possibly didn’t even bid for it).

England games are also category B designated events on the OFCOM Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events which means although they can be on pay TV, sufficient provision must be made to show them on free TV (highlights, delayed broadcast, etc.) Scotland games are not included as part of this.

[Jones28]

The thing about the SPFL is that it's a members organisation so if there was a will amongst the clubs to oust Doncaster then it could be done.

I think that leaves a couple of options. Either the club chairmen and women and CEOs genuinely believe he is doing a good job. Or he's a useful lightning rod who absorbs the flak from fans for collective bad decisions and avoids too much attention being paid to the aforementioned.

Yepp good point, I would imagine it's the latter because other than Covid I don't see what Doncaster has done well with Scottish football.

[SHODAN]

Because Channel 4 (and ITV) bid and won the rights to England games. Neither of them won the rights to Scotland games (possibly didn’t even bid for it).

England games are also category B designated events on the OFCOM Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events which means although they can be on pay TV, sufficient provision must be made to show them on free TV (highlights, delayed broadcast, etc.) Scotland games are not included as part of this.

Why are games by one of the four national teams in this country protected events, but not games by the other three?

[Newry Hibs]

Presumably their offer of £59 for the season was for a cash flow / get the numbers up reason, and not them just offering something and being nice.

[overdrive]

Why are games by one of the four national teams in this country protected events, but not games by the other three?

No idea and it is a ridiculous situation.

[lyonhibs]

No idea and it is a ridiculous situation.

Fairly obviously a numbers game, as unfair as that is.

[The_Exile]

So many kids just simply cannot watch football these days, gettin into the stadium (with an adult) is too expensive, getting it on the telly is too expensive, I honestly think we will pay the price in 20-25 years as our pool of players will be much smaller because of the lower interest in the game. It's beyond the reach of much of the working class these days unless you pirate it all and there will be lots who don't have the savvy to get that sorted.

If we wanted to watch Scottish Football this season legally we would need Sky, plus Viaplay, and you can't just take Sky Football, you need some basic package, then an HD fee, or NOW TV which is stupidly priced. How much would that cost a month? 40? 50 quid? Absolute Joke. All national team games should be free to air and putting Scotland games behind a paywall is another kick in the teeth to the people in society who can't afford it while England games are freely available. I feel like the game is going the same way as Westminster, complete greed and cash grab in the knowledge it isn't sustainable and will likely implode very soon.

If there was a Scottish Football channel/app at £15 a month where you got access to every league game (live and catch up), cup game, national team games etc (I would love more coverage of the lowland league and highland legue, there are great stories in these leagues and something tailored towards our game would enable these stories to be told) I would pay it if it was sensibly priced and I think a lot of people would do the same. Remember, we are the best supported league in Europe per capita and there is an undeniable passion for our product in this country. Where else do you get over 10k at a game in the 3rd division? We need to change the way we sell our product and this deal with Viaplay is a ****ing disgrace.

[overdrive]

So many kids just simply cannot watch football these days, gettin into the stadium (with an adult) is too expensive, getting it on the telly is too expensive, I honestly think we will pay the price in 20-25 years as our pool of players will be much smaller because of the lower interest in the game. It's beyond the reach of much of the working class these days unless you pirate it all and there will be lots who don't have the savvy to get that sorted.

If we wanted to watch Scottish Football this season legally we would need Sky, plus Viaplay, and you can't just take Sky Football, you need some basic package, then an HD fee, or NOW TV which is stupidly priced. How much would that cost a month? 40? 50 quid? Absolute Joke. All national team games should be free to air and putting Scotland games behind a paywall is another kick in the teeth to the people in society who can't afford it while England games are freely available. I feel like the game is going the same way as Westminster, complete greed and cash grab in the knowledge it isn't sustainable and will likely implode very soon.

If there was a Scottish Football channel/app at £15 a month where you got access to every league game (live and catch up), cup game, national team games etc (I would love more coverage of the lowland league and highland legue, there are great stories in these leagues and something tailored towards our game would enable these stories to be told) I would pay it if it was sensibly priced and I think a lot of people would do the same. Remember, we are the best supported league in Europe per capita and there is an undeniable passion for our product in this country. Where else do you get over 10k at a game in the 3rd division? We need to change the way we sell our product and this deal with Viaplay is a ****ing disgrace.

Extend that further, if you want to watch Scottish (and British) teams in Europe and all UK televised EPL matches you would need to get BT Sports/TNT and Amazon Prime too. The sharing of rights across different providers is often described as being more competitive... but it doesn't benefit the consumer. It just results in people having to fork out more.

[DH1875]

Wales games are free for everyone to watch on channel S4C. Its basically their version on our Alba channel so our games should be on that for free, even if its in gaelic.

[NAE NOOKIE]

So many kids just simply cannot watch football these days, gettin into the stadium (with an adult) is too expensive, getting it on the telly is too expensive, I honestly think we will pay the price in 20-25 years as our pool of players will be much smaller because of the lower interest in the game. It's beyond the reach of much of the working class these days unless you pirate it all and there will be lots who don't have the savvy to get that sorted.

If we wanted to watch Scottish Football this season legally we would need Sky, plus Viaplay, and you can't just take Sky Football, you need some basic package, then an HD fee, or NOW TV which is stupidly priced. How much would that cost a month? 40? 50 quid? Absolute Joke. All national team games should be free to air and putting Scotland games behind a paywall is another kick in the teeth to the people in society who can't afford it while England games are freely available. I feel like the game is going the same way as Westminster, complete greed and cash grab in the knowledge it isn't sustainable and will likely implode very soon.

If there was a Scottish Football channel/app at £15 a month where you got access to every league game (live and catch up), cup game, national team games etc (I would love more coverage of the lowland league and highland legue, there are great stories in these leagues and something tailored towards our game would enable these stories to be told) I would pay it if it was sensibly priced and I think a lot of people would do the same. Remember, we are the best supported league in Europe per capita and there is an undeniable passion for our product in this country. Where else do you get over 10k at a game in the 3rd division? We need to change the way we sell our product and this deal with Viaplay is a ****ing disgrace.

Given the technology is so cheap nowadays that even small clubs can stream their own matches on the club's TV channel, how expensive would it be to invest in some very decent equipment to stream one live match every weekend and some cheaper equipment to show extended highlights of the other matches in a sort of Sportscene style effort ... except with much better production values, which lets face it wouldn't be difficult.

i wouldn't be so keen on live coverage of every match ... we want people to actually attend matches ... I would favour one live match per week .. two at most if there's a midweek card and a blackout of the coverage in the home teams local area, if that was possible ... its something they do in the US for the reason I've said.

The channel, as you alluded to, could tell the stories of all the clubs and do bio stories on players too ... perhaps it would get to the stage where we could all name more than a few of the opposition players when Motherwell or Ross County visit Easter Road, which wouldn't be a bad thing IMO.

It shouldn't be forgotten that any advertising revenue the channel could attract would be going into Scottish football and not some outside broadcaster. Which means you could possibly even charge a subscription of £10 a month rather than £15.

All of this makes it all the more sad that Ron Gordon is no longer with us ... the guy had an armful of Emmys for his work in sports broadcasting, especially football, he would have been absolutely invaluable for such a venture with his knowledge and I have no doubt, contacts in the industry.

[1875Sean]

So many kids just simply cannot watch football these days, gettin into the stadium (with an adult) is too expensive, getting it on the telly is too expensive, I honestly think we will pay the price in 20-25 years as our pool of players will be much smaller because of the lower interest in the game. It's beyond the reach of much of the working class these days unless you pirate it all and there will be lots who don't have the savvy to get that sorted.

If we wanted to watch Scottish Football this season legally we would need Sky, plus Viaplay, and you can't just take Sky Football, you need some basic package, then an HD fee, or NOW TV which is stupidly priced. How much would that cost a month? 40? 50 quid? Absolute Joke. All national team games should be free to air and putting Scotland games behind a paywall is another kick in the teeth to the people in society who can't afford it while England games are freely available. I feel like the game is going the same way as Westminster, complete greed and cash grab in the knowledge it isn't sustainable and will likely implode very soon.

If there was a Scottish Football channel/app at £15 a month where you got access to every league game (live and catch up), cup game, national team games etc (I would love more coverage of the lowland league and highland legue, there are great stories in these leagues and something tailored towards our game would enable these stories to be told) I would pay it if it was sensibly priced and I think a lot of people would do the same. Remember, we are the best supported league in Europe per capita and there is an undeniable passion for our product in this country. Where else do you get over 10k at a game in the 3rd division? We need to change the way we sell our product and this deal with Viaplay is a ****ing disgrace.

Clubs wouldn’t go for it, be too worried about impacting attendances if every game was televised

[The_Exile]

Clubs wouldn’t go for it, be too worried about impacting attendances if every game was televised

Couple of games live a week from each league and the rest on catch up or delayed like we get on Alba sometimes. isn't that drastically different to what we have now for the premiership. The crowds would be absolutely fine if we could set the live games at times that the fans want. Friday nights under the lights anyone? Most games would remain 3pm kick offs and so not able to be televised anyway I would imagine.

[basehibby]

Why are games by one of the four national teams in this country protected events, but not games by the other three?

Utter travesty of a situation. OFCOM need hauled over the coals - they are showing blatant favouritism by protecting England games and not those of other home nations.

[Gloucester Hibs]

Clubs wouldn’t go for it, be too worried about impacting attendances if every game was televised

Agreed, clubs wouldn't want to risk it. But happy to "risk" getting into bed with tinpot broadcasters :rolleyes:

[Steven79]

Utter travesty of a situation. OFCOM need hauled over the coals - they are showing blatant favouritism by protecting England games and not those of other home nations.Another reason why this "nation of equals" only works well for one nation in the UK.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[blackpoolhibs]

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/viaplay-may-withdraw-spfl-broadcaster-27343079

[NAE NOOKIE]

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/viaplay-may-withdraw-spfl-broadcaster-27343079

I would be surprised if they handed back the rights to Scotland's games given the teams current upsurge. Just an uneducated guess obviously, but if they do at least this version of Scotland is marketable and a good deal might be found elsewhere.

As for the SPFL what a situation they find themselves in, and on the back of the Setanta disaster, not for the first time. This is going to require some out of the box, blue sky ( whatever cliche you want ) thinking in order to try and make money from broadcasting our league and league cup going forward. And that should give everybody in Scottish football the bloody fear, because I doubt you would find anybody with the slightest confidence in their ability to do it without selling our game woefully short.

As I said further up the thread, what a disaster it is that Ron Gordon isn't around, this was exactly his field of expertise, recognised time and again by the American TV industry for his ability to be successful in it. He would have been a giant amongst pygmies working with that lot.

For me this once again raises a question that hasn't been discussed for a while too. Why the hell is it that in a country of 5 million people, with no more than 20 to 25 full time professional football clubs do we have two bodies running our game? The cost of that must be unnecessarily and ridiculously excessive.

In 2021 Neil Doncaster was paid £388,000 and in 2022 £392,000 .... in two years he has taken over 3/4 of a million quid out of our game :confused:

Ian Maxwell became SFA CEO IN 2018 at a reported salary of £300,000 per annum .... he took a 10% pay cut during Covid, but I've no doubt he is back on that 300k or maybe more .... at a guess then he has also probably taken the same amount as Doncaster out of our game in the last two full years since the return of fans.

To have two folk take around 1.5 million quid from our game in two years is utterly mental and you have to ask, how many other paid positions are there at the SFA and SPFL that could be done by one person instead of two if the two bodies were amalgamated?

The fact that this absolutely mental situation hasn't been addressed way way before now tells you all you need to know about why our game continually struggles financially.
:fuming:

[Steven79]

I would be surprised if they handed back the rights to Scotland's games given the teams current upsurge. Just an uneducated guess obviously, but if they do at least this version of Scotland is marketable and a good deal might be found elsewhere.

As for the SPFL what a situation they find themselves in, and on the back of the Setanta disaster, not for the first time. This is going to require some out of the box, blue sky ( whatever cliche you want ) thinking in order to try and make money from broadcasting our league and league cup going forward. And that should give everybody in Scottish football the bloody fear, because I doubt you would find anybody with the slightest confidence in their ability to do it without selling our game woefully short.

As I said further up the thread, what a disaster it is that Ron Gordon isn't around, this was exactly his field of expertise, recognised time and again by the American TV industry for his ability to be successful in it. He would have been a giant amongst pygmies working with that lot.

For me this once again raises a question that hasn't been discussed for a while too. Why the hell is it that in a country of 5 million people, with no more than 20 to 25 full time professional football clubs do we have two bodies running our game? The cost of that must be unnecessarily and ridiculously excessive.

In 2021 Neil Doncaster was paid £388,000 and in 2022 £392,000 .... in two years he has taken over 3/4 of a million quid out of our game :confused:

Ian Maxwell became SFA CEO IN 2018 at a reported salary of £300,000 per annum .... he took a 10% pay cut during Covid, but I've no doubt he is back on that 300k or maybe more .... at a guess then he has also probably taken the same amount as Doncaster out of our game in the last two full years since the return of fans.

To have two folk take around 1.5 million quid from our game in two years is utterly mental and you have to ask, how many other paid positions are there at the SFA and SPFL that could be done by one person instead of two if the two bodies were amalgamated?

The fact that this absolutely mental situation hasn't been addressed way way before now tells you all you need to know about why our game continually struggles financially.
:fuming:Yep!

That money could be spent far better things but the only way things are going to change is if fans fight it.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[ancient hibee]

I would be surprised if they handed back the rights to Scotland's games given the teams current upsurge. Just an uneducated guess obviously, but if they do at least this version of Scotland is marketable and a good deal might be found elsewhere.

As for the SPFL what a situation they find themselves in, and on the back of the Setanta disaster, not for the first time. This is going to require some out of the box, blue sky ( whatever cliche you want ) thinking in order to try and make money from broadcasting our league and league cup going forward. And that should give everybody in Scottish football the bloody fear, because I doubt you would find anybody with the slightest confidence in their ability to do it without selling our game woefully short.

As I said further up the thread, what a disaster it is that Ron Gordon isn't around, this was exactly his field of expertise, recognised time and again by the American TV industry for his ability to be successful in it. He would have been a giant amongst pygmies working with that lot.

For me this once again raises a question that hasn't been discussed for a while too. Why the hell is it that in a country of 5 million people, with no more than 20 to 25 full time professional football clubs do we have two bodies running our game? The cost of that must be unnecessarily and ridiculously excessive.

In 2021 Neil Doncaster was paid £388,000 and in 2022 £392,000 .... in two years he has taken over 3/4 of a million quid out of our game :confused:

Ian Maxwell became SFA CEO IN 2018 at a reported salary of £300,000 per annum .... he took a 10% pay cut during Covid, but I've no doubt he is back on that 300k or maybe more .... at a guess then he has also probably taken the same amount as Doncaster out of our game in the last two full years since the return of fans.

To have two folk take around 1.5 million quid from our game in two years is utterly mental and you have to ask, how many other paid positions are there at the SFA and SPFL that could be done by one person instead of two if the two bodies were amalgamated?

The fact that this absolutely mental situation hasn't been addressed way way before now tells you all you need to know about why our game continually struggles financially.
:fuming:

Although it impacts on the SPFL through the League Cup I don’t see why you mention the league. The BBC contract has just been extended in line with the Sky one.
Doncaster is overpaid and is not making a good job of it-for example the Cinch shambles with Rangers. Maxwell situation is different. The SFA is responsible for all football played here. A huge job.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Although it impacts on the SPFL through the League Cup I don’t see why you mention the league. The BBC contract has just been extended in line with the Sky one.
Doncaster is overpaid and is not making a good job of it-for example the Cinch shambles with Rangers. Maxwell situation is different. The SFA is responsible for all football played here. A huge job.

Yeh, got ahead of myself a wee bit, I forgot Viaplay don't cover league games.

I know the SFA are responsible for all football, but the leagues from Premiership to Division 2 and the regional leagues EG the Lowland League, are run by the SPFL are they not?

Whether I'm right or wrong about who covers what TV wise, it doesn't change my opinion that it's plain daft to have two bodies running the Scottish game. with two men earning near enough 3/4 of a million quid between them every year. You could understand it in England where they have 92 full time professional league clubs and goodness knows how many pro and semi pro ones below that in the regional leagues. Not to mention an avalanche of amateur clubs, bloody thousands of them probably ... there are 6 qualifying rounds of the FA cup before the first round proper even begins.

I can't be arsed to research it, but I would be interested to know in how many European countries of our size football is run by two administrative bodies, both with CEOs on over a quarter of a million quid each and who knows how many executives and whatnot below them in both bodies all picking up salaries? I presume Rod Petrie didn't work for nothing when he was president of the SFA, I understand he stood down last month.

It just seems mental to me :dunno:

[Viva_Palmeiras]

It’s a real shame that (was it WorcesterHibee?) who kicked off the SPFL fans survey iirc could not have held on to that longer. Those with the finger on the pulse of the fans as never see before could have been a powerful tool if it remained the the fans. Those who set the questions can also set the Agenda and narratives…

[ElginHibbie]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F1d4jm3X0AAHrnI?format=jpg&name=large

Not sounding good

[nonshinyfinish]

"We are also discontinuing our low tier non-sports offering" – confirmation that they will no longer televise Hearts games.

[Pretty Boy]

Another fine mess.

[Steven79]

"We are also discontinuing our low tier non-sports offering" – confirmation that they will no longer televise Hearts games.[emoji1787]

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[blackpoolhibs]

https://twitter.com/Football_Scot/status/1681953413242683393

[Jones28]

Concentrating on their Nordic offering.

Ah well. I guess we go crawling back to Sky.

[04Sauzee]

https://i.ibb.co/jhKZXKK/20230720-101439.jpg (https://ibb.co/sjSJYSS)

[Danderhall Hibs]

So only showing the old firm games isn’t a viable business model after all then?

[GreenNWhiteArmy]

If they're up to date with their payments and pull the plug, then we can just seek an alternative arrangement to screen matches?

Time for SPFL TV?

Tricky one, as we want Doncaster and Co maximising investment instead of accepting whatever peanuts sky throw at us but we might end up back there with our tail between our legs

[PatHead]

Be great if the BBC could find some money to cover Scottish premiership games.I think that between them and Sky they pay 8m a season for women's football coverage. That is due to expire at the end of this season.
Be interesting to see how much that increases by next time around.

[Danderhall Hibs]

Be great if the BBC could find some money to cover premiership games.

Sky have the rights to league games.

[overdrive]

If they're up to date with their payments and pull the plug, then we can just seek an alternative arrangement to screen matches?

Time for SPFL TV?

Tricky one, as we want Doncaster and Co maximising investment instead of accepting whatever peanuts sky throw at us but we might end up back there with our tail between our legs

I know I slated the fact there are so many broadcasters earlier on in the thread in terms of impact on the fans but the flipside is it puts the SPFL/SFA in a position where there are less bidders for the rights and therefore less competition to drive up how much we get for the rights.

[PatHead]

Sky have the rights to league games.

How long does the deal last for?

[ElginHibbie]

How long does the deal last for?

New deal runs until 2029

[Pretty Boy]

On a positive note hopefully this is a chance for a terrestrial broadcaster to approach UEFA with a view to stepping in and taking the remaining Scotland games for the Euro qualifiers.

[blackpoolhibs]

If the plug is pulled, what kind of money are Hibs losing?

[ElginHibbie]

If the plug is pulled, what kind of money are Hibs losing?

Would guess depend on how we did in cups and if any of the games would have likely been selected (drawing Celtic, Rangers or Hearts) for coverage?

[1875Sean]

If the plug is pulled, what kind of money are Hibs losing?

Maybe a lot of nonsense but the record say the have already banked 2.5m this season

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spfl-not-pressing-viaplay-cup-30498056

[overdrive]

Maybe a lot of nonsense but the record say the have already banned 2.5m this season

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spfl-not-pressing-viaplay-cup-30498056

Surely the SPFL/SFA haven't signed up to deals where the broadcaster can just pull out of the deal without paying. Though maybe they have since they clearly signed up to getting into a situation where they had to rebrand a competition after it started last season.

[Billy Whizz]

Surely the SPFL/SFA haven't signed up to deals where the broadcaster can just pull out of the deal without paying. Though maybe they have since they clearly signed up to getting into a situation where they had to rebrand a competition after it started last season.

I’m hoping this means that they won’t be bidding for rights outside the Nordic area, which might mean hopefully that the cup and Scottish National games are still available via Viaplay. It could cost them a fortune to get out of them

[Cat Stanton]

Does this mean they will no longer be showing the Scotland games this year? And if so, and more to the point, do I get my money back for signing up for the year with their recent special offer...????

[Moulin Yarns]

Does this mean they will no longer be showing the Scotland games this year? And if so, and more to the point, do I get my money back for signing up for the year with their recent special offer...????

STV News understands that all payments to the SPFL as part of Viaplay’s current deal with the league body are up to date and that Viaplay Cup games will continue to be shown as usual despite the Nordic broadcaster’s financial difficulties.

[davhibby]

I’m hoping this means that they won’t be bidding for rights outside the Nordic area, which might mean hopefully that the cup and Scottish National games are still available via Viaplay. It could cost them a fortune to get out of them

They’ll either sell the Uk channels in the same way that they bought them from Premier to someone or sell off the individual rights to people until it all runs down. I wonder if now that BT have been bought over they might see the 2 Scottish cups and all the European international rights as something worth having. Would set things up nicely for them to take on the additional 20 league games that Sky won’t bother with from next season

[Torto7]

We should be aiming for a Scottish sports subscription channel imo. I don't see any reasons for us not to try it.

[1875Sean]

We should be aiming for a Scottish sports subscription channel imo. I don't see any reasons for us not to try it.

Sky have the league rights

[NAE NOOKIE]

Sky have the league rights

It is what it is so far as that's concerned. But in the period that contract still has to run it gives the SFA and SPFL time to seriously try some sort of feasibility study into the viability of starting and running a Scottish football PPV streaming service.

SKY have woefully sold our game short, not just in the pittance they offer for the rights, but their choice of fixtures as well, their failure to cover the derby on the last day of the season, which was practically the only game with anything at stake was mind bogglingly crass.

[Billy Whizz]

Seemingly 2 of the contacts subcontracted
Scottish National team via UEFA, and the Scottish cup via the IMG organisation
Half of the League Cup money already paid

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/scotland/66256891

[1875Sean]

It is what it is so far as that's concerned. But in the period that contract still has to run it gives the SFA and SPFL time to seriously try some sort of feasibility study into the viability of starting and running a Scottish football PPV streaming service.

SKY have woefully sold our game short, not just in the pittance they offer for the rights, but their choice of fixtures as well, their failure to cover the derby on the last day of the season, which was practically the only game with anything at stake was mind bogglingly crass.

They may have sold our game short with the coverage but they were the ones willing to pay the most compared to the other broadcasters, can’t complaint when they far out bid Bt

[Glory Lurker]

At least they've not just collapsed. Despite the assurances, I'm not convinced my £59 deal will see out its expected lifespan.

[Col2]

Word on the street is STV will pick up international games which will be a boost for fans

[gbhibby]

Canal+ have acquired a 12% stake in viaplay.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Canal+ have acquired a 12% stake in viaplay.

Really high profile if the amount of their stuff you see on cooncil telly is anything to go by .... I don't know if they have any sort of background in sports broadcasting though.

[gbhibby]

Really high profile if the amount of their stuff you see on cooncil telly is anything to go by .... I don't know if they have any sort of background in sports broadcasting though.
I think they have quite a number of sports channels covering all sports. Sure they have a lot of football coverage. I think they fund a lot of movie production. Wonder if that will change the announcement made by Viaplay?

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Really high profile if the amount of their stuff you see on cooncil telly is anything to go by .... I don't know if they have any sort of background in sports broadcasting though.

Isnt Le God a Canal+ sports broadcaster?