Old Firm TV ?

[ian1964 10,724]

RANGERS and Celtic are planning to launch their own TV channel and bid for the rights to Scottish football.

 

The Old Firm are furious over the cut-price TV deal being offered to the SPL by Sky and ESPN in the wake of the collapse of Setanta.

 

And they held secret talks at the weekend to discuss a bid of their own.

 

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain said last night: "I can confirm that the Old Firm have had talks regarding the current broadcasting arrangements.

 

"We are deeply disappointed at the proposals on the table and are exploring other avenues. At this stage I don't want to comment further."

 

Bain and Rangers chairman Sir David Murray met their Parkhead counterparts, Peter Lawwell and Dr John Reid, to find a way forward on the TV issue.

 

Both Old Firm clubs are furious that most other SPL teams seem willing to accept the "derisory" �£65million, five-year deal on offer from ESPN and Sky.

 

The rest of the clubs look certain to rubberstamp the bid this week.

 

The offer is worth roughly half the �£130million the SPL would have banked from Setanta over four years.

 

But the Old Firm were always cynical about the Irish broadcasters' ability to actually pay the cash it had promised.

 

Rangers and Celtic are preparing to offer more than �£25million to buy the rights for two years.

 

They claim that the other 10 clubs will each earn more cash if they accept their deal.

 

The Old Firm would stand to make more money by either selling the rights on to a new bidder or launching their own pay-per-view channels.

 

The Record understands that Sir David Murray and Celtic's majority shareholder Dermot Desmond held urgent talks after last week's Hampden meeting with SPL executive chairman Lex Gold.

 

The two tycoons discussed some sort of breakaway TV deal and agreed to hold a further round of talks.

 

Any move to gazump Sky and ESPN will have to be tabled within the next 48 hours.

 

A source close to the discussions said last night:"The Old Firm are very clear and united on this.

 

"There is a feeling that the offer on the table right now is tantamount to these broadcasters holding our game to ransom.

 

"In effect, Scottish football has been asked to drop its standards and accept whatever they offer. It is ludicrous to agree to these conditions for the next four or five years.

 

"It would make far more sense for Rangers and Celtic to find the money to buy the rights for the next couple of years with an offer in excess of the terms on the table.

 

"That way, the other clubs will share a bigger guaranteed income. And the Old Firm would be in a position either to sell the rights on to a broadcaster themselves, or, more appealingly, to create their own Old Firm TV channels.

 

"Both clubs are well aware how lucrative the Old Firm derbies would be if launched on a pay-per-view platform.

 

"As it stands, because of the collapse of Setanta and some botched negotiations, their own TV income is dropping like a stone.

 

"It has gone down from �£ 5million a year when the new deal with Setanta was agreed, to �£4million a year when that deal was restructured, and now to a sum closer to �£ 1.9million a year.

 

"The Old Firm are no longer willing to allow the tail to wag the dog."

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/07/14/rangers-and-celtic-get-together-to-buy-up-tv-rights-for-scotish-football-86908-21518563/

[Frankie 8,562]

This is all quite interesting really.

 

I guess it would require a lot of initial investment but perhaps existing resources could be bought/leased on the cheap.

 

My guess is that the non-OF teams would rather cut off their nose to spite their face though.

[ian1964 10,724]

This is all quite interesting really.

 

I guess it would require a lot of initial investment but perhaps existing resources could be bought/leased on the cheap.

 

My guess is that the non-OF teams would rather cut off their nose to spite their face though.

 

Correct Frankie,even if the other SPL clubs were to receive more cash they would not want the '' Old Firm '' running this,can't see it happening

[alexscottislegend 2,325]

Yes, as has been pointed out, the other clubs won't want the OF to have control. But they need to be told that the alternative could be extinction for them. The tail must not be allowed to wag the dog again. That is what happened when the original Sky deal was booted out.

[Guest Jum Spence]

Celtic and Rangers may be set to mount a bid to take on the broadcasting rights to the Scottish Premier League.

 

More...

[chilledbear 16]

The Evening Times.

 

 

THE Old Firm's stunning plan to take control of the SPL TV rights at a cost of �£25million requires the backing of at least six other clubs.

 

TV rights are one of the reserved voting issues - and would only be passed if eight clubs agreed.

 

Clubs have already been sounded out, and the Old Firm have had sufficient encouragement to move forward with their plan, though they point out it is still at a very early stage. The SPL confirmed today: "We've not received any proposal from the Old Firm."

 

Aberdeen - who united with Celtic and Rangers to oppose the ultimately-doomed �£130m Setanta deal which was accepted last year - could vote with the big two again if the deal is put on the table.

 

advertisementBut it will take a massive amount of lobbying to push through the offer being put together by the Old Firm. Directors across the country will be wary of effectively allowing the Old Firm to control the most important contract in Scottish football.

 

But St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour today admitted he would be willing to look at any plan which would benefit the SPL.

 

He said: "I don't know enough about the proposals to comment in depth, but I would never be against anything which brought more money into our game."

 

St Johnstone's Geoff Brown is also very interested to see the fine detail of the proposal but warned: "You have to look at the ramifications of this move. I don't think anyone outwith the Old Firm would want to be dictated to by Rangers and Celtic.

 

"If it's true and they are putting this scheme together, then that is effectively what will happen in the future. That would be a problem.

 

"At the moment, we effectively have 12 equal shareholders. The last thing 10 of those members will want to do is to give their powers away.

 

"Remember, that is what caused the collapse of the previous contract with Sky.

 

"However, if it was on a fixed-term contract, for a set number of years, then it is something I'd look at.

 

"I can totally understand the reasons the Old Firm are doing this. They have seen the money they take in from broadcasting decrease. They have looked at what they can do to increase it.

 

"This is something I would consider."

 

With TV money accounting for almost half of the income generated by some clubs, anything which is an improvement on the �£65m five-year offer placed on the table by ESPN/Sky would be welcomed.

 

It has been reported that the vote on this ESPN/Sky offer has to be made within the next 48 hours. But the SPL have confirmed that although there is a meeting on Thursday, it is not necessarily the case as it would require all 12 clubs to agree to make their decision within that time-frame.

 

The Old Firm can refuse to vote now, and in so doing buy more time to sell their own proposal to the other 10 clubs.

 

The �£25m they are prepared to put on the table as the initial cash would be boosted by extra money generated from the sell-on of the games or a pay-per-view package.

 

Separate club channels for Rangers and Celtic have also been mooted as a possible way to bring the games to subscribers.

 

Rangers chairman Sir David Murray and chief executive Martin Bain have been heading the high-power talks with Celtic's Peter Lawwell and Dr John Reid.

 

Celtic's major shareholder Dermot Desmond is also reported to have been involved in the discussions and Bain revealed: "I can confirm the Old Firm have had talks regarding the current broadcasting arrangements.

 

"We're deeply disappointed at the proposals on the table and are exploring other avenues. At this stage I don't want to comment further."

 

Publication date 14/07/09

[ian1964 10,724]

Celtic and Rangers may be set to mount a bid to take on the broadcasting rights to the Scottish Premier League.

 

More...

 

Too late Chick

[calscot 0]

One has to wonder what kind of attractive package that ESPN can put together for their limited EPL coverage. SPL football would dramatically increase their potential subscriber base and you would have to expect them to be pretty keen but playing it cagey to keep costs to a minimum.

 

Sky don't really care and would be happy to pick up a bargain which would pay for itself and more by marginally increasing their number of subscribers.

 

Having a feasible and serious home grown alternative could force ESPN's hand to put in a proper bid. After all, Setanta were doing ok before they tried to get a piece of the English pie - it was the expansion south of the border that sunk them.

 

So this could really be a fall back plan that also puts us in a much stronger bargaining position.

[Big Spliff 0]

Very interesting development. Intriguing actually.

 

Money talks for everybody, including the other 10 teams. Many of them play to 5-7k averages and must be really really tight for cash so any uplift would be hard for them to oppose.

[ian1964 10,724]

SIR DAVID MURRAY insists the Old Firm are acting in the best interests of everyone as they bid to take control of SPL TV rights.

 

The Ibrox chairman hatched a bid to save Scottish football with Parkhead rivals Dr John Reid and Peter Lawwell in crisis talks at the weekend.

 

Both giants are furious over the cut-price deal being offered to the SPL by Sky and ESPN in the wake of the collapse of Setanta.

 

Now Rangers and Celtic plan to launch their own TV channel and bid for the rights to the SPL.

 

The stunning move would need the backing of at least SIX other member clubs with Rangers and Celtic expected to table their proposal at a meeting at Hampden on Thursday.

 

And last night Murray urged his fellow chairmen to trust him and back the proposals.

 

He said: "I would like to think we are acting in the best interests of every other football club in the SPL.

 

"We cannot see how the value has halved in the last 12 months.

 

"I don't want to pre-empt anything but we have spoken to Peter Lawwell and John Reid and collectively we feel if Rangers and Celtic were to sell their domestic TV rights for roughly �£2million each then it would not be fair. It is not a reflective value.

 

"We have supporters who quite rightly want us to compete on the European stage.

 

"Do you think �£2m will go a long way to help that? All the time the gap is getting bigger.

 

"No one knows more than me we're in a difficult situation because of the downward economic cycle.

 

"But what we must do collectively is ensure we use our best endeavours to get the most money for everyone. Surely Rangers and Celtic's TV rights are worth more than �£4m a year?

 

"Rangers and Celtic get �£4m and Portsmouth get �£24m.

 

"I understand what Sky and ESPN are doing - trying to get the best deal possible.

 

"But let's be under no illusions. Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen didn't want to go with Setanta in the first place."

 

The Old Firm are looking to raise more than �£25m and it's understood a financial model is already in place.

 

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At the moment Sky and ESPN are the only bidders but their five-year deal worth �£65m has been slammed as derisory.

 

The offer is worth roughly HALF the �£130m the SPL would have banked from Setanta over four years.

 

Now the Old Firm want to gazump Sky and ESPN - promising the other ten clubs they will each earn more cash by accepting their deal.

 

Murray said: "We just feel there is no tension in the bidding process. Wrongly in my opinion, Sky and ESPN are getting a clear run at it. And it would not be correct of us, Celtic or Rangers, to not see if it is feasible for us to do it on our own.

 

"And the numbers are making for interesting reading."

 

Murray knows it will take a lot of lobbying to push through the Old Firm's proposals. But the Gers supremo insisted: "We have a certain standard of value we are not receiving.

 

"Rangers and Celtic are massive brands. And by looking after ourselves I hope we are helping our other club members as well.

 

"Talking from a Rangers perspective, this is a good season for us.

 

"If I am being honest, last year was a financial nightmare because we lost to Kaunas.

 

"But this year we are in a stronger position.

 

"We're going to run a tight ship, we're going to be economical and we're going to keep our better players.

 

"It's going to be a smaller squad and we're going to promote the younger players.

 

"Walter Smith said it at the AGM, I said it in January and I'm saying it again now."

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/2535574/Old-Firm-TV-deals-best-for-us-all.html