The Scottish Professional Football League has agreed a four-season extension to its rights deal with the BBC Scotland division of the UK public-service broadcaster.
The agreement runs from 2016-17 to 2019-20 and means BBC Sport Scotland will continue to provide television and online highlights of Premiership, Championship, League 1 and League 2 matches.
The SPFL said content will be delivered to supporters with enhanced match coverage on the broadcaster’s Sunday night Sportscene programme as well as additional social media clips and highlights on the BBC Sport Scotland website.
The deal comes after the two parties have exchanged blows in recent months over their partnership. The BBC last month criticised “unhelpful” comments from SPFL chairman Ralph Topping, who questioned the broadcaster’s commitment to the domestic game amid talks over a new deal.
SPFL executives have consistently stated their belief that the corporation is selling the Scottish game short when it comes to the deal. BBC Scotland currently pays £1.4m (€1.78m/$2m) per season for the rights to televise highlights on its Sportscene programme and online, along with Radio Scotland’s live coverage.
The Premiership is set to be boosted from 2016-17 with the return of Glasgow giant Rangers to the top division for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Topping had stated his belief that the BBC needed to increase its offer for the rights to between £3m and £4m per season from 2016-17.
Commenting on the new “significantly improved” deal, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “During the process of negotiating with the BBC, the SPFL Board has been very robust and clear in its view of what we believe Scottish football coverage is worth and we are pleased that this has been taken on board and reflected by an improved agreement.”
BBC Scotland’s head of sport, Ewan Angus, added: “BBC Scotland’s main aim was to provide supporters with improved coverage while also ensuring we get value for money for everyone who pays the Licence Fee.
“We firmly believe this new deal will benefit Scottish football as a whole by enhancing Sportscene’s match highlights through increased camera provision and also allowing us to offer footage for fans on social media.”