Armchair supporters of Scottish football have been given a potential title run-in bonus when Rangers consented to allow Sky’s cameras into Ibrox for one additional top-tier match.
As part of the deal, club executives will also be able to access more funds by paying to watch two more home games on the internet before the current campaign ends. Furthermore, SPFL CEO Neil Doncaster and the board have given their full support and agreement for it to be mediated. With this season’s title race seemingly headed to the wire, the broadcaster has now acquired the rights to stream an additional match from inside Ibrox, which might end up being a post-split box office attraction.
Although it has been negotiated on top of the current £30 million season TV package with the SPFL, we are aware that Rangers have not taken the initiative to make it happen in defiance of league executives. Conversely, once Philippe Clement guaranteed his team a spot in the Europa League knockout stages this season, Doncaster was contacted by the Ibrox club and requested to assist in arranging the proposal. Rangers then had the opportunity to sell extra pay-per-view games to their own fans because they would have to reschedule at least two of their planned Saturday 3 p.m. kickoff times.
But, they needed both the SPFL board’s and Sky’s agreement in order to accomplish so. As per the present agreement, which is valid until 2029, clubs can provide a maximum of five PPV matches annually to viewers in the United Kingdom. However, following several discussions with Doncaster and Rangers’ commercial director Karim Virani, Sky consented to increase that figure to seven, if the team granted permission to bring cameras into Ibrox in exchange for an additional game.
The satellite behemoths are limited to choosing four games per season from each elite league. In September, Sky aired the first Old Firm match of the season live from Ibrox. In April, the team led by Brendan Rodgers will return to Govan for a second visit. In addition, they will broadcast Aberdeen’s trip to Ibrox the following month. However, they will now have the opportunity to host two more games at Ibrox, bringing their total to five, one more than the other premier league venues.
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