Scottish football "has become embroiled in the escalating fight" between BT and Sky to become the home of British sports, after the telecom group was "forced to change advertising at this weekend’s cup final," according to Daniel Thomas of the FINANCIAL TIMES. BT has long sponsored the home of Scottish football, Hampden Park. However, BT’s attempt to advertise its sports channels around two screens at either end of the pitch, and space on the pitch, "has been prevented by a clause in the broadcast contract signed between the Scottish football association and Sky, which is showing the match on its channels." The clause "prohibits stadium advertising of rival sports platforms." A person familiar with the situation said that BT was contacted by IMG, which manages the Scottish FA’s sponsorship rights, to request a "clean" stadium given the contract with Sky. This includes "any advertising from a directly competing brand" such as BT Sport. The ground "is now likely to feature only the original generic BT corporate logo," rather than the BT Sports branding "that the company had wanted" (FT, 5/25).
