Sky ready to take SPL matches after Setanta loses rights
• SPL confirms Setanta has missed deadline and lost rights
• Sky believed to be preparing £90m rescue plan for SPL
Sky is the favourite to reclaim main broadcasting rights for the Scottish Premier League after it was confirmed that the league is "actively engaging in the process of selling its domestic broadcasting rights" after Setanta failed to make its outstanding payment of £3m.
At a hastily arranged press conference at Hampden, the SPL executive chairman, Lex Gold, said: "Setanta missed the deadline for the £3m we set for them. We set three deadlines and we wanted to work with Setanta who have been a great partner of ours.
"They have spent £60m supporting Scottish football and our board were determined to give them every possible chance to work through the problems that they had. That process has been lengthy and intensive but the deadline today was the final deadline so our right reverted to us as of 3pm today."
The SPL is understood to have been in talks with Sky for a number of weeks regarding a £90m rescue plan – £35m less than Setanta originally paid for the rights – as Setanta's financial problems became increasingly apparent. The American broadcaster ESPN has also indicated a willingness to screen Scottish football on a four-year deal but the level of exposure and perceived lower levels of risk attached to returning to Sky is likely to sway SPL clubs.
A year ago Sky made an offer to screen live SPL matches for four years from 2010. Despite backing from Aberdeen, Celtic and Rangers, the other SPL clubs opted to extend their relationship with Setanta for an agreed fee of £125m.
Yet Setanta defaulted on a £3m end-of-season payment to Scottish clubs and has subsequently lost its rights to screen English Premier League games after a rescue package led by the American tycoon Len Blavatnik failed.
Although no SPL clubs are yet on the brink of extinction as a result of Setanta's troubles, the league's board are aware they must move quickly to safeguard future television income. Under the present Setanta deal, each club would receive £500,000 at the start of the new season.
Gold confirmed today that the league was keen to secure a new deal with the minimum of delay, but denied that he had made any approaches to other broadcasters. "We aim to do that as quickly as possible given that the football season starts on 15 August," Gold said. "We have not been able to get into formal discussions because the rights have been with Setanta. But I believe that, in sporting terms, we have the most valuable sporting product in Scotland and Scotland is important to broadcasters, so I remain pretty hopeful that we will deliver an early outcome.
"I have made informal approaches to no one," Gold added.
He also said that the SPL will be seeking recompense from Setanta, as part of the contract agreement with the broadcaster. "We had built into the contract safeguards so we had guarantees that we will now be pursuing," Gold said. "The lawyers are in the process of doing that. But I would hope there would be no court case. Our relationship with Setanta has always been very good."
Ewan Murray
Monday 22 June 2009 14.28 BST
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
• SPL confirms Setanta has missed deadline and lost rights
• Sky believed to be preparing £90m rescue plan for SPL
Sky is the favourite to reclaim main broadcasting rights for the Scottish Premier League after it was confirmed that the league is "actively engaging in the process of selling its domestic broadcasting rights" after Setanta failed to make its outstanding payment of £3m.
At a hastily arranged press conference at Hampden, the SPL executive chairman, Lex Gold, said: "Setanta missed the deadline for the £3m we set for them. We set three deadlines and we wanted to work with Setanta who have been a great partner of ours.
"They have spent £60m supporting Scottish football and our board were determined to give them every possible chance to work through the problems that they had. That process has been lengthy and intensive but the deadline today was the final deadline so our right reverted to us as of 3pm today."
The SPL is understood to have been in talks with Sky for a number of weeks regarding a £90m rescue plan – £35m less than Setanta originally paid for the rights – as Setanta's financial problems became increasingly apparent. The American broadcaster ESPN has also indicated a willingness to screen Scottish football on a four-year deal but the level of exposure and perceived lower levels of risk attached to returning to Sky is likely to sway SPL clubs.
A year ago Sky made an offer to screen live SPL matches for four years from 2010. Despite backing from Aberdeen, Celtic and Rangers, the other SPL clubs opted to extend their relationship with Setanta for an agreed fee of £125m.
Yet Setanta defaulted on a £3m end-of-season payment to Scottish clubs and has subsequently lost its rights to screen English Premier League games after a rescue package led by the American tycoon Len Blavatnik failed.
Although no SPL clubs are yet on the brink of extinction as a result of Setanta's troubles, the league's board are aware they must move quickly to safeguard future television income. Under the present Setanta deal, each club would receive £500,000 at the start of the new season.
Gold confirmed today that the league was keen to secure a new deal with the minimum of delay, but denied that he had made any approaches to other broadcasters. "We aim to do that as quickly as possible given that the football season starts on 15 August," Gold said. "We have not been able to get into formal discussions because the rights have been with Setanta. But I believe that, in sporting terms, we have the most valuable sporting product in Scotland and Scotland is important to broadcasters, so I remain pretty hopeful that we will deliver an early outcome.
"I have made informal approaches to no one," Gold added.
He also said that the SPL will be seeking recompense from Setanta, as part of the contract agreement with the broadcaster. "We had built into the contract safeguards so we had guarantees that we will now be pursuing," Gold said. "The lawyers are in the process of doing that. But I would hope there would be no court case. Our relationship with Setanta has always been very good."
Ewan Murray
Monday 22 June 2009 14.28 BST
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
lol his next local team is the accies lol