Kieran Maguire: Celtic ‘know where the real money is’ as £30m-a-year deal agreed
Celtic will be “ambivalent” about the new SPFL TV deal as they know that the “real money” comes from European competition.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after the SPFL finally reached an agreement with Sky Sports.
The media giants will, per BBC Sport on Tuesday (27 September), pay the SPFL £30m-a-year to air 60 matches in each of the next five seasons, a £5m-a-year increase on the previous deal.
Negotiations have been drawn out by the hesitance of Rangers, who were eventually bypassed by SPFL chair Neil Doncaster in order to get the deal over the line.
The news comes in the same week that the SPLF announced record revenue of £39.5million for the 2021-22 campaign.
Celtic are in line to earn approximately £30m this season alone from their participation in the Champions League stage.
Maguire claims that they will be lukewarm about the new SPFL package given the riches they can earn from Uefa.
“The Scottish TV deal is always a very sensitive one,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“On a gross basis, the numbers are modest. But on an amount paid per match basis, they are considerably higher than some of the peer groups with which we compare Scottish football, such as Scandinavia, Belgium and so on.
“That is because the approach taken by the SPFL is to restrict the number of matches that are broadcast live and, on the back of that, try to increase physical attendances. That has been a success.
“On a per-head basis, Scottish football is probably the most supporter country in Europe. It has got four divisions and people do still physically attend the matches.
“So, what is lost in terms of broadcast revenue is made up for at many clubs through matchday revenue.
“Having said that, Celtic would sell out whether the match is on TV or not, so you can see why they might be slightly more ambivalent about the value of the broadcast deal.
“At the same time, they know the real money is to be made from Uefa competitions, and I think that will continue to provide the main element of their focus.”
In other news, pundit suggests Celtic could sell Matt O’Riley to Newcastle United for “sky-high” fee but keep him at Parkhead.