STUMP UP OR TAKE A HIKE
Dons chief tells TV giants to pay a fair price for our football
ABERDEEN chairman Stewart Milne has warned Sky and BT Sport there will be no more bargain basement deals for screening Scottish football.
And he believes having interested parties fight it out for an exclusive deal like the one done with BT Sport for the Betfred Cup is the best way forward. The building tycoon reckons it’s a disgrace the game in this country is treated as the poor man of Europe by the television companies. The SPFL are believed to pick up just under
£19million a season from the pair that leaves them at the foot of a table of 18 European countries.
Overseas rights and highlight packages are reckoned to total £30m but Milne is convinced that’s still peanuts given the quality of the product.
Clubs are stuck with it for another two seasons but he says plans are already in place for a well-deserved massive hike in revenue.
Milne said: “I am absolutely convinced we’ll have a better broadcast deal next time round.
“I would be extremely disappointed if it’s just an incremental improvement on what we’ve got. We have to work hard to get a multiple of what we already have.
“All the clubs have a part to play in this and everyone is working in the background to ensure we maximise our prospects of getting a really good deal this time round.
“In the last few seasons we have given Scottish football a great platform to go to the broadcasters with.
“It’s important to get the right sort of deal with a long-term partner, so we can have a clear plan and map out what we want to do over a five to eightyear period.
“We need someone to help us grow the game in Scotland and create better value. I can see loads of benefits coming from just having one partner because it’s in their interests to make it stronger.”
Aberdeen have played a significant part in that as Celtic’s closest rivals in four of the five years since Derek McInnes took over as manager.
Now the challenge is to close the gap on Celtic and see off the threat of a Rangers side boosted by the arrival of Steven Gerrard as manager.
Milne added: “It’s a very exciting time for Scottish football. Hopefully ourselves, Hearts, Hibs and Rangers can keep Celtic within touching distance.
“Rangers are upping their game, Hearts have brought in a lot of new players and I have no doubt once Hibs get up and running they will bring in a few as well.
“The league is getting stronger but we have been growing our budget every year.”
Meanwhile, Aberdeen and Europa League rivals Burnley have begun talks with television companies in a bid to ensure their Battle of Britain showdown is screened live across the country.
The Dons host their Premier League counterparts in the first leg of the second qualifying round on July 26 before travelling to Turf Moor a week later.
Each club owns the rights to their respective home games and Burnley’s head of football operations Matt Williams said: “We’ve spoken to broadcasters about covering the game. But you’ve got to be mindful of their commitments.”