Scotland, Celtic and Rangers games to remain behind pay wall as Viaplay sell rights

There has been a fresh twist in the TV rights for Scotland and domestic cup games amid Viaplay's sharp decline. Only 18 months ago, Viaplay bought Premier Sport's business and assumed their TV rights to show a number of football competitions, including Scotland's European and World Cup qualifiers, the Scottish League Cup, and other European competitions, such as La Liga and Serie A.

But a year-and-a-half later, Premier Sport has announced its return, buying back its UK business from Nordic broadcaster Viaplay, who recently announced they would be quickly withdrawing from the UK market due to 'financial difficulties'. Viaplay have confirmed they will now focus on strengthening the core of their business, which is in the Nordic region.

It has now been confirmed that Premier Sports will not only return to the UK, but they will reassume all of the rights they sold to Viaplay, including those that cover the Scotland national team's qualifying fixtures, the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup rights that are shared with the BBC.

That means the rights will remain pay-per-view for Celtic, Rangers and other Scottish football fans. Premier Sports will remain a paid service, and it will bring back the same services it offered previously. It will be available across Sky and Virgin, while it will also have an app available across the vast majority of platforms.

It is worth keeping in mind that Premier Sports are not back online just yet, promising to return to action from 'early 2024'. Subscription information is likely to follow in the coming weeks for those who plan to subscribe. Their website remains unfilled at this point, and so it will likely be a quick turnaround for the broadcaster to get back up and running in time for those all-important cup games.