Any Scottish football fan who has just seen their annual Viaplay subscription fee appear on their bank statement will be entitled to wonder just what they are going to get for their money now that the Nordic media giants have announced they are pulling out of the UK. And they will be joining a queues with SFA and SPFL chiefs.
The cost of watching the beautiful game for armchair supporters has risen in recent years to the point where MPs have called for more to be done to reduce the money punters have to pay. In recent seasons, fans have had to subscribe to Sky Sports, BT Sport, Premier Sports and Viaplay and that’s even before taking out club TV subscriptions. It has cost fans up to a figure nearing an eye-watering £1000 a year.
That has been reduced with Sky Sports now exclusively showing the cinch Scottish Premiership but fans of clubs involved in European action still need to subscribe to the rebranded TNT Sports. And now there are doubts over what the future holds for the Scotland national team after the news Viaplay are pulling out. The Scandinavian giants acquired the rights and sponsorship deal for the Scottish League Cup from Premier Sports and also show the Scottish Cup alongside the BBC.
Viaplay won the rights to exclusively broadcast Scotland’s fixtures right through to the European Championships in 2028 as part of UEFA’s centralised deal. There is now major uncertainty over what happens next and here Record Sport looks at some of the possible options.
Sky Sports:The media giants are no strangers to stepping in to save the day after coming to the rescue when Setanta went out of business in 2009. The collapse of the Irish broadcaster, who had defaulted on a £3m payment, sparked a fraught four-month period before Sky and ESPN stepped in.They lost the rights after UEFA’s centralised National Association media rights sales process. But could they be tempted to come back in if a cut-price deal is on offer? They are certainly the safest bet, as SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster has often said.TNT:Have rebranded from BT Sport and are trying to rival Sky Sports. Took over from Sky as the home of the UEFA club competitions and have taken over BT's existing portfolio of live rights. They might fancy expanding into the international scene to take a tighter grip on the football market.Free to air:This would be the dream scenario for the Tartan Army - matches that are free to air. In a recent debate in the House of Commons, the Scottish Affairs Committee asked the Government for help in securing a solution that would let fans see Scotland matches free on TV. England fixtures are shown on Channel 4 and a similar deal, or one with the BBC, would be the perfect scenario for fans but not quite so lucrative for the SFA.Amazon:The US internet retailer and streaming giant already has a broadcast portfolio which includes Premier League football and could branch out. Bezos in the Cinch? It would be some story.The tech giant’s live sports coverage is limited to Major League Soccer and select Major League Baseball games but they have been linked with a move to break into the football market with reports earlier this year they were eyeing up English Premier League rights.DAZN:Currently recognised for being one of boxing's main broadcasters, they reportedly want to grow their UK audience and the lesser-known broadcaster - with 20 million subscribers - could do worse to help them become a household name after making inroads with boxing.The London-based company recently took over NFL Game Pass which allows subscribers to watch more than 300 games on any device and the over-the-top sports streaming service are looking to get a foothold in other sports.