Daily Mail: Scottish clubs approve £150million TV broadcast deal with Sky Sports

Story from Daily Mail:

The SPFL have secured the green light from clubs to sign a new £150million broadcasting deal with Sky Sports.

Sportsmail revealed last week how the fate of the contract extension hung in the balance after Livingston and Rangers delayed their response to a new league resolution.

Ibrox managing director Stewart Robertson has claimed the rights are undervalued, citing the fact that Swedish clubs receive double the revenue from TV than those in Scotland.

Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack responded by releasing a statement on Sunday insisting that the deal with Sky is as good as clubs can expect in the current climate.

Top-flight teams were due to meet on Tuesday in a bid to resolve any differences around a deal projected to net clubs a collective £30million a season over five years until 2029 and allow Sky to show 60 games per campaign.

Requiring an 11-1 vote from the Premiership to pass, SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan has now emailed clubs to tell them that a resolution designed to bypass Rangers' objections has secured the votes required.

A Sky deal hailed as 'the largest single commercial contract in the history of Scottish league football' will be signed in the coming days.

'I am pleased to be able to advise you that the Commercial Resolution in respect of the proposal from Sky has now been approved by cinch Premiership Clubs and that the Qualified Resolution amending the SPFL Rules (to accommodate the Sky proposal) has also been approved,' wrote MacLennan.

'Thank you for your support of this important rule change. The extended contract with Sky will underpin the finances of the SPFL for the next seven years, in the face of what appear to be strengthening economic headwinds.

'Over the coming days, we will look to contract with Sky and to announce the extension, which, by value, will be by far the largest single commercial contract in the history of Scottish league football.'

All 12 top-tier clubs were initially asked to provide a waiver letter agreeing to let Sky increase the number of home games shown from each ground by one per season.

While 11 clubs agreed, Rangers declined to support the move unless the SPFL apologised for its handling of a dispute with the Ibrox club over the cinch sponsorship deal and agreed to meet the legal costs incurred during arbitration.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster responded by sending out a second 'qualified resolution' which proposed a change of rules removing the need for a waiver letter.

This required the support of 11 Premiership clubs by the beginning of next month.

With lower league clubs giving near unanimous support, the assent of Premiership clubs will secure agreement on a deal slated by fans who believe the contract should have been put out to tender.

Under the terms of the new deal, Sky will be allowed to show 60 games per season from 2024-25 — up from 48. In return, the broadcaster is prepared to increase payments to Premiership clubs from the current £25m to £30m by 2028-29.

Sky would also have first refusal on two additional bundles of ten games per season at a cost of £4m from 2024-25.

That, potentially, could mean 80 games are eventually shown per year with clubs sharing £38m.