Kieran Maguire issues ‘gigantic’ Celtic-Rangers verdict as £25m-a-yr deal analysed
The “gigantic gap” between the squad costs of Celtic and Rangers and the rest of the SPFL makes it difficult to sell the TV rights.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about remarks made by Gers commercial chief James Bisgrove.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times last Thursday (27 January), Bisgrove admitted he was “concerned” about broadcast revenues in the SPFL.
He argues that the league’s chiefs should do more to capitalise on the international interest in the two Glasgow clubs.
Celtic thrashed Rangers 3-0 on Wednesday (2 February), with the clash broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The SPFL’s current contract with the exclusive rightsholder is worth £25million per year, according to The Athletic last month (13 January).
Maguire claims that the imbalance between Rangers, Celtic and the chasing pack has a detrimental impact on the overall value of the deal.
“In Scottish football 95 per cent of the total squad cost comes from Rangers and Celtic,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“That gigantic gap does mean that there is an overall lack of competitive balance between the rest of Scottish football.
“There are six clubs in the Premiership who haven’t spent a penny on players. That does make it more challenging to sell the product overall.
“But the Rangers-Celtic brand is a good one, and they are right to go down the route of targeting it.”
Celtic leapfrogged Rangers atop the Scottish Premiership after Wednesday’s win.
The Hoops travel to Motherwell today, while Rangers host Hearts.
In other news, Paddy Kenny “wowed” by Reo Hatate and makes “absolutely brilliant” Celtic claim.