Sky deal’s given the green light
after the Ibrox club refused to give it their backing. But the five-year package was in the balance once again last week when Rangers and Livingston failed to respond to a “qualified resolution” to change the top flight’s voting structure.
League bosses need the support of 11 Premiership clubs and now we understand the West Lothian club have finally signed off on the rule change.
That means the new five-year agreement with the broadcast giants, worth £30m per season, is set to be accepted ahead of a deadline on Sunday night.
It will now require the support of 11 top-flight clubs, six from the Championship and a combined total of 32 clubs from across all four divisions. And it’s believed the numbers have already been secured in spite of Rangers’ reservations.
Ibrox managing director Stewart Robertson has accused SPFL chief Neil Doncaster of selling the game on the cheap.
Rangers have also refused to support the beefed-up package until they receive a cash payout and an apology from Doncaster relating to the club’s long-running dispute with league sponsors Cinch.
The Rangers hierarchy demanded the SPFL say sorry for a botched arbitration in the row and also agree to pick up legal tabs on behalf of the club and chairman Douglas Park.
Aberdeen chief Dave Cormack waded into the row on Sunday when he issued a statement calling on all clubs to give the deal their support – and urging Rangers to finally bury the hatchet with Cinch.
Sky want to increase their coverage of the Scottish top flight by increasing their live match package from 48 games to 60 games from season 24/25 and are willing to increase their annual payments from £24m to £30m by season 28/29.
That deal could now be completed and officially announced before the domestic game restarts at the weekend. The SPFL declined to make any comment on the breakthrough when contacted by Record Sport last night.
SCOTTISH football’s new £150million TV deal is set to be rubberstamped this week after Rangers were effectively frozen out of the vote.
Record Sport revealed earlier this month that the SPFL were ready to rip up their own rulebook to force a bumper Sky deal through