BSkyB have reacted to supporter pressure by stating that they have never discussed pulling out of Scottish football.
With Rangers about to be liquidated there has been a regular flow of rumours that Sky will pull out of their contract with the SPL if they don’t have four Glasgow derby fixtures to screen.
Various SPL clubs, including Kilmarnock and Dundee United, have gone public with their concerns and fears about a drop in broadcasting income.
No proof has ever been displayed to say that Sky’s contract demands four derby fixtures a season but with fear of the post-Rangers era gripping some clubs a doomsday scenario has been given oxygen.
Supporters angry at the notion that Scottish football could be held hostage by Sky have bombarded the satellite broadcaster with their complaints.
On-line petitions have been started with Sky’s help team on twitter trying their best to avert a subscription boycott with Scottish football fans ready to cancel their £40/month payments if Sky pull the plug on the SPL.
Reacting to that threat Sky’s PR team are in today’s newspapers denying that they are about to ditch Scottish football.
A spokesman is quoted saying: “Sky has never, ever discussed pulling out of covering Scottish football.
“We have not discussed that possibility, either with the SPL or any other footballing authority. Nor has that been on the agenda for consideration within Sky, despite all the problems and difficulties being faced by Scottish football at present.
“If Rangers are not in the SPL, that would change things for us, naturally. It would leave a quality hole in Scotland’s top division.
Competition would deteriorate and, in that event, we would have to renegotiate.but let us be very clear we have always tried to be supportive of Scottish football and have never made any negative noises or sent any negative messages.
“Scottish football is still very much in our plans for the future. Walking away has never been on our agenda.
“We have, in the past, been asked for our opinions, but we believe that football should be run by the football authorities. We are a TV company.”
Last week Sky signed a three year extension to their contract with the English Premiership sharing the rights to live matches with BT.
With ESPN losing out the American based channel may turn to showing more Scottish football while BT will be looking for more than four live Premiership games per month to fill their schedule.
Celtic’s non-executive director Ian Livingston is the chief executive of BT and conducted the negotiations to secure the live Premiership rights.
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Absolute garbage from SKY, How much do they put into the coffers of Scottish clubs in comparison to the amount the FANS contribute. How much do they benefit from the advertising during Scottish fixtures while the FANS get nothing in return.
Will they reduce the contract if Man. Utd get relegated AGAIN….Did they reduce the contract for the EPL when former greats Leeds were relegated or DOuble European Champions Nottingham Forest ??
Are they trying to tell the public the competition is better than ever when it has become nothing more than at best a two horse race if that. Man. City will continue to pull away backed by Arab billions.
It used to be said it was a hugely competitive league but how can anyone consider Arsenal / Spurs / Liverpool as credible challengers when was the last time they even came close to the title. Chelsea are in need of a complete overhaul, ONLY the Manchester clubs can win the title next season or the one after that.
The only real interest is the 10-15 clubs battling to avoid relegation.
Doncaster it was I am sure that hinted about four old firm games a season, another myth…competely outwith the control of ANY association & illegal. What happens if CorpseFC stay in the SPL and get relegated (Obviously no chance of playing ANY games next season anyway) will SKY try to BLACKMAIL our game to keep them up.
Competition would deteriorate….more garbage, clubs can look forward to finishing AT LEAST 2nd, see European Football, Cup runs and push on making the top table more competitive. Celtic will be able to give more opportunity to promising young players.
Was our league competitive when CoprseFC were outspending even the English clubs and winning the title by 20+ points.
Time to tell they are NOT the only game in town, we will NOT be dictated / blackmailed by ANY TV Company. As the late Jock Stein said many years ago…Football without the FANS is nothing, how many would go back to regular kick-offs on a Saturday. Watch the FA Cup semi-finals at half empty stadia down south, strip back the veneer of the huge SKY investment and look at the empty seats at MOST English grounds thanks to live Tv coverage.
Anyone can watch ANY game via the internet without SKY subscription….this will only continue to grow. BT see the way ahead, the internet sites will continue to prosper and BT want a major slice…SKY has numerous adverts, so why ask the public for monthly fee’s. The tide IS turning and SKY better smarten up or be left behind.
It’s ironic that nobody within UEFA, FIFA, or the various FAs in Europe seems to have noticed how the Americans deal with money in team sports.
The USA, the most voraciously capitalist country in the world, uses socialist principles to keep their sports competitive: no team is allowed to dominate because their owner has more money than everyone else. Every team gets an equal chance to buy the best players, and they all get enough money from the TV companies to keep their team competitive.
The American sports bodies do this because they know that ultimately capatilism destroys competition. And that without competition sport will die.
Who’s going to win the CL next year? Any one from three ? Or any one from four? Boring!
YET another example of the Laptop Loyal propaganda machine being shown up for the liars they are, willing to go to any extremes, including bare faced lies, to influence any decisions effecting The Thems.
I’ll be waiting with interest for their explanation for this blatant BS….I won’t be holding my breath though!
I think you may want to read this statement again. There is absolutely no commitment from SKY here. This is a typical “sit on the fence” answer.
“A spoksman is quoted as saying ‘Sky has never, ever discussed pulling out of covering Scottish football”.
Sorry JoeG, I don’t want to be argumentative but that seems pretty unambiguous to me.
It’s obvious that SKY are facing two directions here.Trying to put pressure on the authorities to keep the living dead f.c in the spl but at the same time trying to reassure the subscriber’s that they are not going to stop showing spl games…if i don’t get a better commitment than that from sky they can go and raffle their doughnut.
When those at Ibrokes were giving out stories that all tv deals would be off were nothing more than propaganda to keep their brainwashed fans in line.
There would always be a chance they’d cut back some of the money or get us to fill their schedule, such as playing some matches on a Friday or Monday night.
If any club couldn’t cope with any changes in finance they shouldn’t be there anyway, move aside & let those who can step up.
Sky reported that they are not getting involved, but may wish to negotiate a new deal. They are not pulling out until I hear otherwise I am fine with that. PS I was one of the many who did write to Sky to voice my concerns.