Scottish football "has gone global" after a "blockbuster" new Scottish Professional Football League int'l rights deal, according to Michael Gannon of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. The Scottish Premiership will now be shown in 102 countries -- with clubs set to bank more than £10M ($14.3M) over the next six years. Scottish football "was already being shown in China" but now will have coverage in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam as well as North Africa and "traditional hotspots" such as the U.S. and Canada. SPFL CEO Neil Doncaster insisted the deal was "proof of the game’s global appeal -- and the extended reach will lead to clubs making a mint on the back of marketing and commercial deals." Doncaster: "While in Scotland we constantly and rightly scrutinize our national sport and consider ways to further improve it, I think there is an under-appreciation of just how highly respected and liked Scottish football is by fans, other clubs and football authorities in all corners of the globe." The new deals have come on the back of the SPFL’s link with int'l rights company MP & Silva -- which "set up the China move" in '14 (DAILY RECORD, 2/17).
