Auntie Beeb is bad, but so is our game

IT is not enough merely to lambast the BBC and centre the furore around one grossly overblown public institution. However much fun it may be, and however deserving the Beeb may be of a damned good thrashing, there has to be more to the argument.

Yes, there is a debate to be had about whether market forces or a wavering dedication to public service should dictate the Corporation’s pursuit of sports broadcast packages; a proper examination of the scandalous inequalities at play is long overdue.

But the shouting and fuming cannot stop there. Somewhere amid the fury, we need to ask why and how Scottish football has become such an irrelevance, not only in a UK-wide context but, increasingly, here at home.

If we boasted a glitzy product full of drama, packaged beautifully and given a sales pitch of such brilliance that even the departing Don Draper would spill his bourbon in amazement, both satellite and terrestrial broadcasters would be beating a path to Hampden. And pulling wagons laden with gold behind them.

Scottish football is not in that place. We can’t even afford the taxi fare to such a Promised Land.

So yes, we can push harder for what is in effect a public subsidy. It is right that the SPFL, for so long silent and happy to take whatever they could get from a market of one, should raise their voices over the disparity between leagues when it comes to highlight packages.

And there should be two distinct arguments on this front — not merely seeking a greater l ump- sum payment, but also demanding that BBC Scotland receive sufficient funding to improve upon the amateurish nightmare that is Sportscene.

Hand in hand with the demands for more, though, must come a commitment to improve the product. Swathes of empty seats in the background as a big-boned central defender sends a looping header over an under-sized goalkeeper? Bring. It. On.

Non-sports fans would accuse the BBC of serious wastage i f they shelled out more for what they’re already getting on the cheap.

But do Corporation executives such as sports director Barbara Slater really want to start arguing that, as a whole, they’re providing value for money?

BBC ALBA’s football coverage. Shinty. Snooker — loads of snooker. All are ‘good things’ funded by the licence fee because, at heart, the corporation exists to serve the public.

To those who say that the Scottish game could die without being mourned by the majority, well, look at what happens any time an individual club is threatened. The success of a group like the Foundation of Hearts would suggest that, despite the decline, football still plays a role in many communities.

It is incumbent upon those who make t he decisions, t hen, to persuade — not just cajole — the BBC that our game is worth an increase in allowance and production values.

Or they had better be prepared to f ollow the suggestion of SPFL board member Mike Mulraney, who recommends simply walking away from the only council telly bidder when the current contract expires.

Did someone mention SPL TV? Dirty words. But continuing to bang out highlights on YouTube — an increasing player in broadcasting — may be an option. Put together a package to go out at half five every Saturday, let the punters tune in on their phones and tablets, then let the advertising roll in.

All good ideas. As long as you believe there’s something worth showing and selling.