BT Sport "can receive a contractual payment" of up to £250,000 ($421,000) per season for broadcasting games of Scottish League 1 Rangers, according to Chris Jack of the Glasgow EVENING TIMES. The deal "was struck in the summer of 2012" when the Ibrox club dropped down into the Third Division, with a clause "inserted into the broadcast agreement to cover the additional costs of having to set up at lower league grounds." The contracts that were in place between the Scottish Premier League and TV companies "became null and void when Rangers were admitted to Scotland's fourth tier and a compromise was reached" to allow Rangers games "to still be shown" (EVENING TIMES, 5/21). STV reported the league "thought it necessary to agree to the deal in order to protect revenue from broadcast contracts worth tens of millions of pounds" to the SPFL each year, which would "likely have been cancelled if a compromise could not be found." The SPL paid the Scottish Football League £800,000 for one season's worth of rights to show Rangers games, but that deal "was absorbed when the league bodies merged in 2013." It is "not known how much has been paid out to BT Sport and ESPN," which were the holders of the contract for the '12-13 season, to date (STV, 5/20). In Glasgow, Keith Jackson reported £250,000 "has already been paid back to broadcasters -- with another £250,000 set to follow this summer." The cash "has been dished out as subsidies" to ESPN, BT Sport and Sky. Details of the deal struck in summer '12 -- during crisis talks involving SPL CEO Neil Doncaster, Celtic CEO Peter Lawwell and the broadcasters -- "were leaked online over the weekend sparking an angry reaction from fans" (DAILY RECORD, 5/21).
