Scotland fans are "facing another terrestrial television blackout after Premier Sports won the rights to the national side’s next three away games," according to Mark Wilson of the London DAILY MAIL. Gordon Strachan’s men "are on their travels over the next few months," visiting Prague to take on the Czech Republic, Malta to play Italy and Metz to meet Euro 2016 host France. Those games "will all now be screened on Premier Sports, who covered Aberdeen in a Europa League qualifier earlier this season, rather than any of the usual broadcasting big guns of Sky, BT Sports or BBC Scotland." Supporters wanting to watch the Scotland games at home "will have to pay for a subscription to the specialist sports channel." Association of Tartan Army Clubs spokesperson Hamish Husband admitted that the "lack of free-to-air coverage remains a frustration for some fans." Central marketing deals "meant all of Scotland’s Euro 2016 qualifiers were shown on Sky." Husband said, "It puts into question the commitment of both the BBC and STV to the Scottish national team." BBC Scotland insists, however, that it "made a serious attempt to secure coverage of all three of the forthcoming away friendlies, only to lose out in the bidding process." A BBC spokesperson said, "We were very interested in acquiring the live rights and put in what we thought was a very competitive bid" (DAILY MAIL, 2/27).
