SPFL TV deal: James Bisgrove names 5 broadcast alternatives to Sky Sports as Rangers commercial director slams missed chance

Rangers commerical directorJames Bisgrove reckons the SPFL have missed a trick in not taking broadcast rights out to tender before agreeing to a £150million extension with Sky Sports.

The Scottish Professional Football League announced a four-year extension to their agreement with Sky Sports earlier this week, which comes into force from the start of the 2024/25 season, will see an increase in the number of games shown live with up to 60 Scottish Premiership matches.

The value of the TV deal could reach around £30million per season by the 2028/29 season, excluding the addition of a further two bundles of ten games.

Rangers have voiced their concerns regarding the way the deal has been handled with managing director Stewart Robertson expressing his frustration at the lack of “market-test” as they refused to sign off on the proposal before the initial deadline.

An 11-1 vote was required to finally pass the motion but Bisgrove claims that while the club recognise the strength of the partnership with Sky Sports, there were other options for league officials to consider with the aim of securing more value from the new TV deal.

He outlined up to five potential broadcasters who may have chalenged Sky Sports for the broadcasting rights.

Bisgrove told the Rangers Review: “Stewart (Robertson) and I were in the SPFL Premiership clubs meeting and asked how can we, as a group of clubs, as a league, be sure that this is the best value in the market when we haven’t engaged with other players in that market?

“The information and intelligence that we got suggests that very recently other big rights that were in the market had created competitive tension.

“You’ve got BT Sport and their joint venture with Discovery, you’ve got Viapay and NENT, you’ve got DAZN. And there are others further afield, the likes of Amazon.

“We’ve said all along we think Sky are a gear partner, they’re a brilliant partner for Scottish football but to give everyone assurance that the value is as high as it possibly can be, you’ve got to take this to the market.

“There’s a reason why TEAM Marketing that run the UEFA Champions League, Europa League tenders, go to the market every time. They run a competitive process, it’s the reason why the Premier League do that.”

Various aspects of the new agreement will begin with immediate effect, such as the addition of live coverage of Scottish Women’s domestic football.