Subscription broadcaster Premier Sports have confirmed that they will now be broadcasting TWENTY Scottish Premiership matches per season for the next five years, starting with the upcoming 2024/25 season.

There’s two ways to look at this. Firstly we’ll get more Celtic games on television, which is ideal for those who can’t get a ticket and the match isn’t live on Sky Sports. Second, there’s the additional subscription cost if you don’t already have Premier Sports in your complex media subscription package.

There will also most certainly be implications for our away support who will be subjected to changes to kick-off times to suit the broadcaster.

The SPFL deal with Premier Sports will of course provide the clubs with more revenue, yet with many of the away grounds when Celtic or theRangers visit, having loads of empty seats rather than paying football supporters wanting to watch their team.

It was refreshing for the Ayr United MD this week to release additional unsold tickets to Celtic supporters for the friendly on Friday 5th July, and pointing out that by doing so Ayr stand to make an additional £50k which could bring in an experienced signing for the new season. Watch the video above for some admirable joined up thinking that is to be admired in the Scottish game. It will never catch on!

Remaining tickets for that Ayr Utd v Celtic game are still on sale via the official Celtic website HERE.

The Scottish Premiership is coming to Premier Sports 🤩

We are delighted to announce that we will be showing 20 league games per season for the next 5 years, starting from the 2024/25 campaign 👊

Scottish Football: 𝐀𝐥𝐥. 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫. 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/gyZDu2TL5J

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) June 5, 2024

The announcement of this new broadcasting deal was made this morning via the official SPFL website and reads as follows:

THE SPFL HAS AGREED A FIVE-YEAR DEAL WITH THE CHANNEL

The SPFL has announced a new deal with Premier Sports to show 20 live and exclusive Premiership matches each season, from this summer. The news follows the extension of the League’s contract with Sky Sports in 2022, which saw Sky securing the rights to show up to 60 live Premiership matches per season.

Celtic v St Mirren – cinch Premiership – Celtic Park Celtic s Stephen Welsh celebrates with the cinch Premiership trophy at the end of the cinch Premiership match at Celtic Park, Saturday May 18, 2024. Photo Andrew Milligan

The SPFL and Premier Sports have now signed a five-season contract for Premier Sports to show 20 live Premiership matches per season in the UK and Ireland. Premier Sports acquired the rights as part of a competitive bidding process which attracted multiple bidders.

SPFL group chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “This is tremendous news for SPFL clubs and supporters alike and means that up to 80 Premiership matches will be broadcast live next season across Sky Sports and Premier Sports. This will be the highest number of live matches ever broadcast from the Scottish Premiership.

“With Premier Sports already having the rights to the Premier Sports Cup and Scottish Cup, they have cemented their place as a key broadcaster of live Scottish football.

“We are extremely grateful to Premier Sports for their increased investment into the game, which will bring an additional eight-figure sum into Scottish football over the next five years, meaning further record-breaking payments to clubs.”

Michael O’Rourke, founder of Premier Sports, commented: “We are delighted to strengthen our Scottish football offering to fans in what is a hugely exciting time for Scottish football at both club and international level.

“The addition of the Scottish Premiership means we are showing more Scottish football than ever before and we’re looking forward to broadcasting games and storylines from one of Europe’s most exciting and passionate league for the next five years.”

📺 @PremSportsTV will show 20 live top flight matches each season for the next five years.

2024/25 will see the highest number of live matches ever broadcast from the Scottish Premiership.

Discover more ➡️ https://t.co/fdwDwaIf8D pic.twitter.com/44Co51uVut

— SPFL (@spfl) June 5, 2024