BT and Sky TV to battle for Scottish Championship

THE cash-strapped SPFL may finally be in for some good news as a result of Hibernian’s relegation from the Premiership.

Four Edinburgh derbies next season will add to the value of the Scottish Championship. Picture: Jane Barlow

BBC Alba are close to finalising a contract which would allow them to broadcast 16 Championship matches and it’s understood that most of them will be scheduled for Friday evenings. More interesting, though, is the prospect of big hitters Sky and BT going head-to-head as they attempt to hammer out new deals which would allow them to show the crucial games from the second tier next season.

The BBC Alba arrangement will not include the right to show Rangers home or away and will limit them to two visits per stadium.

Sky are currently allowed to broadcast 25 Premiership matches and five Rangers fixtures while BT can show 30 live games from the top flight and ten Rangers matches.

However, with four Edinburgh derbies guaranteed during 2014-15 plus another four visits to Tynecastle and Easter Road by Ally McCoist’s League 1 champions, the Championship is set to be more interesting than the top tier, which Celtic are likely to win again by a sizeable margin.

With Falkirk and fellow play-off contenders Queen of the South also in the mix for promotion, the Championship is set to earn the sponsor-free SPFL some much-needed extra revenue.

Further discussions with Sky and BT are expected in the coming weeks as the big two attempt to capture the rights to the most important matches.