Scottish football is facing a global TV blackout on the eve of the "most eagerly anticipated season in years," according to Keith Jackson of the Scotland DAILY RECORD. Broadcast companies from around the world "may be forced to pull the plug" on plans to show Steven Gerrard's first league match as Rangers manager at Aberdeen on Sunday. The firm which is supposed to be selling the Scottish game overseas is "teetering on the brink of financial collapse." MP & Silva -- which "snapped up the foreign rights for Scotland’s top flight" in a deal that lasts until '23 -- is "battling to stay out of the hands of administrators after defaulting on payments to a number of top European bodies," including the Premier League. Qatar-based beIN Sports reportedly "ripped up" its program schedules for the weekend after being "forced to scrap plans" to show the action. While it is understood beIN is also "in the middle of a separate ongoing financial dispute with MP & Silva," Scottish Professional Football League execs were "warned" that TV feeds in the U.S. and Canada will also "be at risk" if the media company fails to survive (DAILY RECORD, 8/1).
