Sky Sports' new five-year agreement to broadcast the Scottish Premier League is "well short of the millions on offer" when Rangers FC were in the SPL, according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD. It is believed the new Sky deal will be worth £63M ($98M) over five years. Last year, Sky and the SPL settled on a £80M ($125M) deal over a similar period, but "the contracts were never signed." That means several SPL clubs "are still facing financial hardship." Rangers, now in the Third Division, were able to sell their TV rights for just more than £1M ($1.5M) a year for the next three years (DAILY RECORD, 8/1). The SCOTSMAN reported that Hibernian FC claims “hundreds” of supporters have answered Chair Rod Petrie’s plea to back Manager Pat Fenlon’s "major rebuild of his Easter Road squad by buying season tickets." Reaching the Scottish Cup final helped Hibs "seal a significant number of season tickets," said to be around 7,000. However, Petrie estimated 2,000 supporters from last season "had failed to renew." As part of the club’s drive to persuade those who had not committed, a group of volunteer fans embarked on a three-day effort to contact as many of the non-renewing season ticket holders as possible under the “Let’s Work Together” banner. The initiative also helped "gather feedback from supporters" (SCOTSMAN, 8/1).
