Sky TV not always the villain

WHEN it comes to Scottish football, Sky Sports have a target painted on their backs. They get captions badly wrong and fans think they treat the game up here like a second-class pursuit. When First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called on the broadcasters to prevent house parties by showing Celtic play Rangers for free, she knew she was on to a ratings winner. But Sky Sports has done a good deal more to keep Scottish football alive in recent months than politicians with an eye for a headline. When the Scottish government were padlocking up the turnstiles, it was Sky’s cash that was keeping them open. When other broadcasters saw Scottish football as a worthless bauble, Sky agreed to shell out £25million per annum for the next five years. And without that first instalment of £12.5m in the first week of August, some clubs wouldn’t be around now. Sky would be a good deal easier to love if they showed Scottish football half the attention they lavish on England. Nevertheless, the fact remains: When other London broadcasters were treating the SPFL like the Dog and Duck League, they stumped up the cash and gave the green light to clubs streaming live games to their own fans when they could easily have said: ‘No chance’. The next time Nicola Sturgeon turns the moral thumbscrews, then, Sky are entitled to ask two blunt questions. Why should they take the hit for the politicians who failed to put a decent track and trace system in place? And what contribution are the Scottish government prepared to make towards their big-game losses?