Income from appearing in the Champions League is set to soar after BT Sport agreed a new £1.2bn deal with UEFA for exclusive coverage of the tournament until the 20/21 season.
BT Sport took the rights from Sky Sports in 2013 after paying out £299m per season.
The new deal works out at £394m per year for the Champions League and Europa League and will be distributed to the British clubs competing in the competitions.
This season Celtic picked up £26m direct from UEFA for reaching the group phase, with the new deal the club can expect to pick up well over £30m from reaching the group phase with ticket money and commercial income likely to add £10m onto that figure.
UEFA are currently attempting to revamp the format of the competition but there is strong opposition coming from outwith the major leagues.
Plans to provide four guaranteed group places for the four best leagues have met with opposition as middle ranking countries are squeezed out of the picture.
Confirming the changes BT announced: “The UEFA Champions League is set to be even stronger from 2018/19, with a minimum of four participating teams now guaranteed from each of England, Spain, Germany and Italy, resulting in more games between the top European teams. Fans will also be able to enjoy UEFA Champions League ‘double header’ nights, as live matches will kick off at both 6pm and 8pm during the Group Stage.”
Under the proposed changes the Scottish champions would have to go through four qualifying rounds and face tougher opponents in the final play-off to reach the group phase.
