BT Sport have called off their live coverage of tomorrow’s Hibs v Kilmarnock play-off decider.
A tweet from the broadcaster tonight said: “BT Sport won’t be showing the @HibernianFCClub v @OfficialKillie game as we’ve been unable to get approval from the SPFL and the home club.”
No reason has been given for the decision but the announcement not to televise the match is a major embarrassment for for the SPFL who remain without a sponsor almost a year after coming into being.
By commenting on ‘the home club’ it seems as if Hibs have had some influence on the decision. BT Sport signed a deal with the then SPL in July 2012 shortly after Neil Doncaster described a Rangers-less future as Armageddon.
No clubs have gone into liquidation since the Ibrox club disappeared but last summer saw the SPL and SFL merge into the SPFL.
It would be assumed that the SPFL inherited the broadcasting contracts of the previous bodies with speculation tonight suggesting that the decision not to show tomorrow’s match is linked to the play-off’s.
There are some suggestions that the maximum number of live games from Easter Road has already been reached but most contracts would have some sort of back up plan for such a scenario.
Whatever happened it once again highlights how out of his depth Doncaster is when it comes to administering the game and securing broadcasting and commercial deals.
With Hibs heading for the play-off’s unless they can beat Kilmarnock tomorrow’s match would have attracted one of the biggest audiences of the season.
Having came up with a dramatic ending to the league campaign with the introduction of the play-off’s the failure to agree a television deal to show the match live in the latest embarrassment for the SPFL.