Scottish Premiership clubs will "gobble up the lion's share of the cash" generated by a new £700,000 ($908,600)-a-year deal to show Scottish Championship games on BBC2 on Friday nights, according to Stephen McGowan of the Scottish DAILY MAIL. BBC Scotland reportedly secured the rights to show 20 live second-tier games -- "both this season and next." The new contract is due to begin before Christmas, with Scottish Championship coverage "switching from BBC2 to the corporation's dedicated new Scottish channel when it launches in February." Under Scottish Professional Football League rules, however, "the money will be added to the overall cash pot to be distributed at the end of the season." Clubs finishing in the bottom half of this season's Scottish Championship will earn less than £7,000 a year ($9,100) from the "new windfall" despite taking center stage on the new channel. Chairs of the Scottish Championship clubs "argued for a bigger slice of the cake." However, an SPFL source said, "The Championship clubs were warned that if they pushed for more cash for their contribution to the prize money then Premiership clubs could do the same when the next television deal is signed" (DAILY MAIL, 10/1).
OVERSEAS PACKAGE: The BBC reported the SPFL announced a "new broadcast tie-in" with beIN Sports covering Australia, New Zealand and 24 countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The arrangement was brokered by Infront. No figures were revealed on "how much revenue the new the overseas package will generate for the SPFL" (BBC, 10/1).
