Falkirk chief backing SPL to find Setanta replacement

Published on Wednesday 24 June 2009 10:22

FALKIRK chairman Martin Ritchie is confident the Scottish Premier League will find a buyer for its broadcasting rights.

The SPL pulled the plug on Setanta on Monday after the Irish-based company again failed to make a 3million payment for last season.

The troubled broadcaster was about to enter the final season of its 13.5m annual contract and had already asked to renegotiate the subsequent 125m four-year deal.

Sky, who initially failed in a bid for the contract from 2010, and Disney-owned ESPN, who have bought the Barclays Premier League rights vacated by Setanta, are rumoured to be interested although time is running out before the league resumes on 15 August.

Speaking at the unveiling of the Bairns' new management team of Eddie May, Steven Pressley and Alex Smith, Ritchie does not envisage any financial problems in the near future.

He said: "I was encouraged by SPL executive chairman Lex Gold's comments that he believes that there will be a package in place for the start of the season.

"It is absolutely critical, I think that is well documented.

"For Falkirk, the money we get through the SPL and television is roughly 25 per cent of our total income so if we lost the whole lot, that would be a really serious problem.

"We just have to hope that the SPL can do the best deal possible.

"At the moment the budgets for this year assumes the expectation of the monies that the SPL would be providing next season.

"Providing what the new deal is, perhaps we would have to look at our budgets again but I'm hoping that we don't have to, we are hoping Lex Gold and his team can come up with the goods."