Kieran Maguire shares Rangers verdict as £30m deal scrapped
ViaPlay’s decision to end broadcasting in the UK will not have a ‘critical impact’ on Rangers’ broadcast revenues.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about how ViaPlay’s scrapped broadcast deal affects Scottish football financially.
As reported by SportsBusinessJournal (20 July), Nordic broadcaster ViaPlay has decided to end all coverage in the UK.
ViaPlay’s broadcast coverage included Scottish international games, rugby matches and the Scottish League Cup – where they are also the tournament’s title sponsors.
The Scottish League Cup was rebranded as the ViaPlay Cup last year after the £30million acquisition of Premier Sports.
But heavy losses to the company mean many of their broadcast deals have since been scrapped.
While Maguire insists ViaPlay’s decision is not ideal for Rangers or Scottish football, he adds that it will only have a ‘minimal’ impact on revenue.
“The decision by ViaPlay to pull out of the non-Nordic and Netherlands market will reduce the amount of competition in terms of rights for football elsewhere in Europe, including Scotland,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“The impact, as far as Rangers are concerned, is minimal.
“The vast majority of their broadcast revenue comes from competition within Uefa such as the Champions League and Europa League.
“That is the main driving force for Scottish sides.
“The TV deals in Scotland are modest, but this is not the primary broadcast deal.
“It is certainly not ideal, but it won’t have a critical impact on Rangers’ revenues.“
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