Congratulations to SPL chief executive, Neil Doncaster, who delivered a remarkable increase in the league’s TV deal with Sky and ESPN; £80m for five years until 2017. The one concession he had to trade, was the possibility that he had to subjugate the link between sporting meritocracy and the commercial imperative.
When news of the deal broke yesterday a Rangers fan was quick to suggest that Sky and ESPN would not have bid on such terms if they had any doubt Rangers would survive in the league, however, later details emerged to prove the exact opposite. The entire deal is dependent on a clause assuring Celtic play Rangers four times each season. If Rangers were eliminated from the league, or even if they failed to earn enough points after an administration penalty to finish in the top six after 33 games, the TV deal becomes invalid.
While this clause was crucial in Doncaster getting his deal it does nothing for the sporting integrity of the competition. It has been five years since Rangers finished outside the top two in the league but if they go into administration, or worse, a fire sale of assets and a point deduction is likely.
The league has now introduced a contractual ceiling on whatever penalty would be applied to a financially deviant club, irrespective of the offense. Doncaster will now also set off to find a sponsor to replace Clydesdale Bank, promising the TV exposure his deal with Sky and ESPN provides. By extension, not only will TV income be dependent on four Celtic-Rangers games per season, so too will league sponsorship income.
Can you imagine the goings-on if Rangers enter next season in administration, with a 10-point deduction and a skeleton squad? Beating Rangers, making it less likely for them to reach the top six, could cost each team in the league millions. Clubs have a clear incentive to ensure Rangers are in no danger of finishing outside the top six.
Neil Doncaster, who is likely to be financially incentivised to deliver TV money, is a member of the SPL board who would decide whether or not to admit a prepack company into the league in the event of an existing club failure. His partiality would be compromised by this deal, so too would other board members from clubs without the liquidity to cope without TV or sponsor income.
While TV broadcasters have a clear financial incentive to lobby for whatever it takes to keep Rangers buoyant, the financial incentives will touch everyone with their snout in the trough, and that includes non-TV media and referees.
This is a dreadful deal as it inserts a clause which compromises the sporting integrity of the competition. Can you imagine giving the team talk to a club, safe from relegation, about to face a Rangers team needing a win on game 33? What about the referee who makes a mistake in Rangers favour, late in the season, under similar circumstances? How would Sky, ESPN and others frame the debate in the event of Rangers going into administration?
I can understand why Sky and ESPN want clause, but the rest of us might as well chuck it.
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Kitalba.
I’m glad you managed to get home,No problems I hope,I had visions of meeting you next week at the Athletico game,I hope to have a drink with Estadio before the game,but that’s a long way away.
Your right about that post being devious,I hope Celtic are as devious as the rest of them.The Premier League is as devious as it comes.We have never been allowed to play on a level playing field,(Maybe that’s why we suffer from so many injuries.Now that is devious.
Och there you go, I was within 100K or so, not bad!!
Ycurl
clanmalirtim
I can live with that, as long as we don’t play two out and out strikers e.g. Stokes and Hooper
Sammi is still on three assists, in three games.
Who’d have thunk it.
It’s all Blogging bluster because NL will probably play two up, but it’s where I think we fail, against what is sure to be another Hibs like defensive line up.
We can beat SPL teams that come to play an open game, Dunfermline will shut up shop.
Thanks Mort. Explains why Sky want the derbies so badly
bsr,
Ki
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire 22 November, 2011 at 13:07:
What agreement?
They denied making any agreement only two weeks ago.
bournesouprecipe says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:12
My first ever game was against Dunfermline in 1998, 5-0 and big Johan scored his 1st goal in the hoops! We used to stuff them routinely at Parkhead, how things have changed!
THM,
the SPL cannont make announcements about deals involving the old firm without the old firm’s agreement, simple really.
Bob Kelly famously said that television would kill football.
How right was he?
It’s easy for me to suggest an away boycott, as I’m not in a position to attend games very often now.
However, if events pan out the way they are heading, then the first targets for sanctions are the other SPL clubs and the SFA, who have all been complicit in the Save the Huns campaign, over the last four years.
Attacking our own club should be a last resort for our support.
My bottom line is if Celtic do not publicly oppose any attempt to soft land them.
Notice of Resignation is the price of my emotional attachment to Celtic.
The announced TV deal is a warning to the clubs of the consequences of imposing justice on the cheats.
Mort
interesting that the figures,in CFC games , for ESPN are half of that for Sky…imo due in no small part to their appalling commentators Burley, Hately et al
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire 22 November, 2011 at 13:15:
Is it that simple though?
Do Celtic have a say in who gets the SPL televison rights or in the details of the SPL’s deal with the broadcasters?
ttt,
I honestly expect the other clubs to band together round their big brother, my biggest problem is the Celtic board are more guilty of any of them in trying to save the hun.
lets be honest folks, absolutely none of this comes as a shock. Celtic is a PLC and its raison d’etre is to satisfy shareholders. it isnt a club.
I see two facets to this contract
1. The contract is terminated as newco rangers are hammered by HMRC, this gives celtic plc the opportunity to leave the league
2. Celtic loses the majority of its support and goes into terminal decline thus breaching the contract
Two peas in the same pod. Old Firm GTF!
for us fans here is a plan:
A. Contine to support the club as long as celtic moves to a new league
if A. doesnt happen then go to plan B
2. Start a new Celtic ourselves, in a different league (fans buy over a wee club somewhere), and PLC and their parasite investors GTF
thomthethim says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:18
Bob Kelly famously said that television would kill football.
………………………………………………………………………………………….
Bob Kelly also knew that our future was bleak as long as we stayed in Scotland and was a strong advocate of the British League.
Bob knew a thing or two about this wee that is run by the Masonic mafia at the SFA.
PF
I’d rather be inclined to suggest that the Sky platform is the medium of choice for SPL fans, as opposed to Freeview, which is a little surprising in some respects, except that ESPN + Sky is awful value, and Sky subscribers won’t dish out a further £10 per month for the ESPN coverage.
dirtymac
Mad Vlad seems to think he has put in 200 Million, 200 million what, I have no idea. :)
clanmalirtim
You’re younger than you look ;-)
Away in 2006 Dunfermline 1- Celtic 8 ( and Craig Burley being ’embarrassed’ for Scottish Football )
If we play to our capability we’ll win regardless of personnel selection.
Lurgan 53 – Philvus.?
I laugh at Philvus
Mrs Returns, is that you? (thumbsup)
Apricale ——
Hot and very wet .
Seriously heavy rain .
Rain laden with sand from the Sahara —– stains everything red . If the wind changes direction , I get volcanic ash from Etna.. Etna has been very lively . Experts predicting an inevitable biggie.
Local paper reports the presence of 44 people on a local Government payroll . Been there for 14 years. Never set foot in the place . Never done a day’s work . Meanwhile -in another town 7 people are busted for selling Driving Licenses ..
Off to Pachino.
THM,
a simple statement from Celtic declaring they want no part in the questionable financial behaviour of the SPL, encouraging teams to evade taxes is a irrespnosible to say th least.
Any public dissent on this issue by Celtic would kill the deal off, the silence is deafening and incriminating, there is no 5th amendment in scotland.
clanmalirtim says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:15
My first Celtic game was 13th May 2001…
Beat 2 nil by Dundee at Parkheed, disappointing but we had wrapped the title up the previous week in MON’s first season.
Born and raised in Belfast, I am not ashamed to admit I was a Man Utd ‘supporter’ up until then (as many young lads are- glory hunters as they’re known)… but i fell in love with Celtic after my first visit.
Its been a while since i’ve been over- married, kids, financial excuses etc, but i cant wait to get back!
“Old Firm involvement had to be guaranteed, but that’s been the case for a number of years. It’s the case with all of the major sponsorships we enter into.
“One of the conditions is that Celtic and Rangers remain part of the league. It is also a condition that they play each other four times a season. That’s been with us for the entirety of the deal with Sky and before that with Setanta.
Now that its a fait acompli, what sanctions have Celtic agreed with the SPL to appease the support? Say what you want about Lawwell, Desmond etc., they aren’t stupid, and they must know that a simple slap on the wrists for the huns will have a bigger long-term effect on Celtic (greatly reduced ST sales) than it will them.
Or do they think the Celtic support will moan a bit but ultimately see their point of view?
Celtic Euro rivals rocked by injury
Published on 22 Nov 2011
By RONNIE CULLY
CELTIC have been handed a huge boost ahead of next week’s crunch Europa League clash with Atletico Madrid after it was revealed the Spanish side are also suffering an injury nightmare.
While Hoops boss Neil Lennon is finding it difficult to identify enough fit players to field a recognisable starting XI, his Atletico counterpart, Gregorio Manzano – whose team face Real Madrid on Saturday – is also counting the cost of a tough schedule.
The weekend’s 3-2 win against Levante came at a high price, with Tiago and Silvio both limping out of the action and struggling to make it to Glasgow for the game a week tomorrow.
Portuguese midfielder Tiago has suffered a rib injury and the extent of it is being assessed by the club’s medical staff.
But defender Silvio is already causing more concern after an MRI scan confirmed he sustained damage to a medial ligament in his left knee.
With captain Antonio Lopez already ruled out after undergoing a cartilage operation, and £30million striker Radamel Falcao a serious doubt after tearing an abductor muscle while training with Colombia 12 days ago, the Atletico problems are growing almost daily.
Lennon will check on the progress of his own plethora of injured players ahead of tomorrow’s SPL game against Dunfermline, which could see them move to within seven points of leaders Rangers.
But the heavy casualty list has already convinced the Hoops boss he must add more players in the January transfer window, and Swedish defender Mikael Lustig believes he could be one of them.
The 24-year-old Rosenborg defender’s agent is in talks with Celtic and Lennon watched him play in last week’s friendly against England.
The man who will play his final game for the Norwegian club this weekend and will become a free agent next month is keen on a move to Parkhead, and said: “I can confirm my agent has been in contact with Celtic.
“What do I think about the possibility of playing in Scottish football? It seems very exciting. It is maybe not the best league in Europe, but it’s very interesting.
“I know Celtic are interested and have been to see me a few times, but there is nothing clear. There are a few other clubs showing interest.”
Perhaps the Celtic board have the choice of -allowing rangers to fold and then watch Celtic go down the tubes after them or -act to keep both afloat?. We have deals and contracts which we have to fulfil much the same as the FOD. If they go bust then, as has been shown by the assurances required by Sky and ESPN, the money that will come in to us commercially will be less than we thought…? (Its not just the money for the TV deal but revenue from businesses that pay to see their names on Sky TV). Is this why we have been getting the debt down… will that be enough? The choice the board make may be to save rangers in order to stop them pulling us down with them. How many of us would sacrifice Celtic to get rid of rangers?
bournesouprecipe says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:24
8 goals in one game for a WGS side, that is an embaressment for the other team at least ;-)
Clyde and Scotland would do us a favour by inviting Doncaster to do a Q AND A with
Paul67, Dingwall and some other representatives of supporters.
We know you are lurking.
For me and I hope others like me its getting close to thinking what else can I do with my Saturday I can see no point to watching the SPL when two of the teams are protected because they can bring in more TV income. I really feel a bit stupid today I allways thought Scottish football was a fair competition then I find out Rangers have been cheating for years now I find they along with ourselves are a protected species what other fiddling is going on that we dont know about? I love my football I love the hoops but it seems I am only seen by the Celtic Board as a cash machine they have no intrest in my interests and appear to be happy to be in league with the coruption that is Scottish football prove me wrong Celtic and bring out a statement saying you will not support protectionism.H.H.
Mort says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:07
Interesting Mort… have you got a link to the source?
ASonOfDan says:
22 November, 2011 at 12:37
Just read the original article. Romanov is quoted as saying he’s ‘invested about 200m in the club’ but does not state that this is pounds sterling. 200m litas is approximately £50m, so having had a chuckle at this, I’m thinking that he’s probably about right, although much of ‘his’ investment actually came from Hearts themselves.
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire 22 November, 2011 at 13:25:
Until rangers lose the never ending tax tribunal, Celtic can not make such a statement.
When they lose the case, we’ll see what gets said and by whom.
It would be tremendous to qualify out this Group after all the pash from The Laptop Loyal. Remember how they stated it was a hindrance to us just because there was no rangers in Europe. HH
CELTIC have been handed a huge boost ahead of next week’s crunch Europa League clash with Atletico Madrid after it was revealed the Spanish side are also suffering an injury nightmare.
While Hoops boss Neil Lennon is finding it difficult to identify enough fit players to field a recognisable starting XI, his Atletico counterpart, Gregorio Manzano – whose team face Real Madrid on Saturday – is also counting the cost of a tough schedule.
The weekend’s 3-2 win against Levante came at a high price, with Tiago and Silvio both limping out of the action and struggling to make it to Glasgow for the game a week tomorrow.
Portuguese midfielder Tiago has suffered a rib injury and the extent of it is being assessed by the club’s medical staff.
But defender Silvio is already causing more concern after an MRI scan confirmed he sustained damage to a medial ligament in his left knee.
With captain Antonio Lopez already ruled out after undergoing a cartilage operation, and £30million striker Radamel Falcao a serious doubt after tearing an abductor muscle while training with Colombia 12 days ago, the Atletico problems are growing almost daily.
philvisreturns says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:24
No. Its not.
But I know the feeling. (thumbs up)
Mort – interesting figures.
Celtic appear to be the top draw with an average of 250k watching our games on SKY.
This makes it more concerning that proper due diligence hasn’t been done by the SPL on selling its own TV channel.
Eredivisie TV, which shows the Dutch league live, has 350k subscribers, each paying around £10 a month, say for 10 months of the year that equates to £35m of income, before the running costs.
Even on the assumption that the people who watch our games, also watch the huns games, it looks like the minimum amount of subscribers is around 250k, which would generate £25m of income straight away. The derby matches could be sold off internationally to generate additional income. I don’t see that the deal Doncaster has negotiated is a fair price. I for one would rather give £10 a month to SPL TV than to SKY or ESPN, if that money was being more fairly distributed to Celtic.
….PFayr says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:19
All ESPN figures are about 45% that of Sky. I’d be interested to know the full breakdown of Mort’s figures as the Sky ones (250k, 209k) may include the 4 games v them that average 700k.
Remove them and the Sky figures drop considerably in comparison to ESPN, whereas the ‘others’ obviously do not.
TBB
won`t dish out another £10 to listen to Burley etc perhaps …i feel that it has some bearing altho despite my antipathy towards the ESPN commentary i still subscribe :¬))
knoxy2000 says:
22 November, 2011 at 13:25
I only ever make it over a couple of times a season myself. Last year it was 0 – 0 at ipox then the last SPL match against murderwell. Last game was great atmosphere with the whole stadium doing the huddle but would easily have traded it for a 2 nil defeat with the leauge already won. You should get over again when you get a chance, now that they sell the tickets on ticketmaster its pretty easy to get hold of them. I once took the misus to Glasgow for valentines day, went for dinner on the Saturday night and i went to the match on the Sunday!
I’ll miss Vladimir Romanov.
He was always great entertainment value.
Hearts are worth £50m?
I know Edinburgh is traditionally expensive, but which property developer is going to offer them £50m in this economy?
(thumbsup)
Big Nan @ 11:45
Thanks for that.
It explains why Strathclyde Police haven’t responded to my complaint.
They’re still typing out the email!
:-)