Scottish football looks certain to be on a collision course with the BBC after the state broadcaster announced a £35m/year cut in their budget for sports rights.
The current deal between the broadcaster and the SPFL and SFA covering all three domestic competitions runs until the end of the current season and is believed to be worth around £1.5m for radio and television rights.
For that the BBC gets live coverage of both domestic cup finals, one match from each round of the cup competitions, live radio commentary plus television and online highlights packages.
Earlier this year the BBC forked out £204m for three seasons of Premier League highlights on Match of the Day leading to calls for an equivalent or least an improvement on the pitiful deal for Scottish football which receives less than Gary Lineker.
That looks highly unlikely with the state broadcaster today announcing: “£35 million will be saved from the BBC’s TV sports rights budget. Meeting this savings target will be tough, particularly given the high levels of inflation in the market.
“We therefore anticipate this will lead to the loss of some existing rights and events. We have already made some tough choices which have contributed to the savings, for instance around the Open Golf.
“However, we have also recently secured a series of important rights – including Wimbledon, Premier League highlights, live coverage of Euro 2016 and 2020 football championships and Six Nations rugby shared with ITV.”
With £60m plus being poured into English football, plus associated fees to pundits and presenters, an equivalent Scottish deal would be worth around £6m based on Scotland’s contribution to the licence fee.
Getting half that figure seems unlikely with the resolve of the football authorities set to be tested if the BBC come up with another derisory bid for the national sport.
Well that’ll be the Huns Gubbed then..They’re past 3 Cup ties have been shown live on BBC..That’s 1 door shut then..
A lot of people in the UK have lost there hard working jobs .but some how this lot at the B B C seem to get away with it
And if they get the Bullet they walk away with good redundant package and pension. Now they want to make cuts.fine by me
There has to be plenty of deadwood picking up good money.the biggest joke of the lot is the many people who are employed at local stations up and down the country.
There is no need for them.so get rid of the big earner’s .then maybe they can get back the sports programmes they have lost to Murdoch Sky Sports BT Sports and Channel 4.after all there are 60 million people in this country who to watch B B C have to pay for a licence. maybe someone will come on and say how much the licence payers give to the B B C so get rid of them and there are plenty ofth them .in a nutshell scratching there arses doing he has.
i live in oz and ibought into Satanta /bein it sport and now they have stopped showing the Scottish games
they show asian /american /Spain /German and the lower leagues in England so the have obviously dont rate the game and at times i agree with them look at the National team allowing Georgia to beat them So Scotland you have to get your act together get more kids playing instead of bringing in european players
Why shell out to receive EPL and Championship high-lights, if you want to watch these games watch on i-player. Keep BBC Scotlands budget in Scotland.
I don’t pay for the BBC license peado ring
What exactly are the BBC offering me as an ordinary punter??? I don’t watch soaps, I detest reality programmes of any kind – including the God awful celebrity dancing rubbish. Once in a blue moon they fork out to some company for a decent thriller, but they are few and far between.
Art programmes are boring to me. The rest seem to be repeats.
So for my money I’m offered a share of the spoils with the FREE channel ITV on rugby, I get rehashed highlights of matches shown earlier in the day or the week, tennis for a month once a year, the Euros for a month – FOUR YEARS APART – no Open Golf, no Formula One, a reduction of an already wowful viewing of scottish footbal – if any at all.
So tell me, besides 24 hr rehashed news and the odd year old film, what is it offering me personally for my money???? Nothing! The licence fee is just another form of Pole Tax. It’s time the punters got onto their MPs and started kicking up hell. Scrap the fee and let the BBC show commercials like everyone else. Absolute disgrace.