Kieran Maguire: Rangers to open ‘chasm’ in Scottish football as £30m deal close
Rangers will open up a financial “chasm” at the top of the Scottish game if they are allowed to sell some media rights on a pay-per-view basis.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest news from behind the scenes at the SPFL.
The Guardian reported last Thursday (11 August) that the SPFL are close to agreeing a new £29.5million TV deal with Sky Sports to show up to 60 Premiership matches per seasons until 2029.
Teams will under the terms of the new deal be allowed to sell up to five matches per season on a direct-to-consumer basis if they have not been chosen for broadcast by Sky.
Maguire explained how this step towards Ranges being able to sell their own rights will widen the gap between the giants of the Scottish game and the chasing pack.
“The benefit of direct-to-consumer selling has been seen in Leagues One and Two in England,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“People like Andy Holt, the owner of Accrington Stanley, acknowledge that streaming is the way forward.
“But they also say that if all the money is made by the institution that is selling the tickets, the existing gap in English football is going to become more entrenched.
“In Scotland, the benefit for Rangers is that they will sell plenty of pay-per-view tickets. That will help them competitively from a European point of view, which can only be good.
“The downside is that the existing chasm in Scottish football is likely to be amplified.
“That means the value of the domestic product overall could follow because you have to ask what is in it for the rest of Scottish football.“
In other news, expert suggests Rangers star Borna Barisic wants to join Nottingham Forest amid “£100m” claim.