The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) governing body has announced multi-year extensions to its broadcast deals with UK public broadcaster the BBC and international rights agency Infront.
Both agreements will now run until 2029 after an “extensive tender process” attracted multiple bids.
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The SPFL’s deal with the BBC will see the public broadcaster continue its coverage of the top-tier Scottish Premiership through its highlights show Sportscene and also retain rights to show 20 live Friday night matches on its BBC Scotland channel.
The deal in addition gives the BBC radio rights to cover Premiership matches on its Radio Scotland channel, and the use of extensive highlights clips on its website.
The deal length mirrors that of pay-TV broadcaster and main SPFL rightsholder Sky Sports, which covers the Premiership in a deal running through 2028-29. It recently renewed and expanded its deal to include the Scottish Women’s Premier League from 2025-26 to 2028-29.
Louise Thornton, BBC Scotland’s head of commissioning, said: “We’re delighted we’ve reached this agreement with the SPFL, which further strengthens our commitment to provide extensive coverage of the top tiers of the game.
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By GlobalData“Live Championship football has become a popular fixture of the Friday night schedule on the BBC Scotland channel. Combining that with the broad slate of live radio coverage and TV and online highlights from our Premiership over the same period is brilliant news for our audiences.”
Infronts deal, meanwhile, will see the international rights agency continue to distribute SPFL’s rights to overseas broadcasters until 2029. The deal includes a buyout agreement from 2025.
The deal covers the men’s Scottish Premiership, the lower-tier Championship, League One, and League Two, the Challenge Cup, and the Scottish League Cup, as well as the Women’s Premier League.
Infront’s original deal with the SPFL was struck in 2018 to fill a vacancy left by the cancellation of a previous agreement with the financially constrained MP & Silva.
Currently, Premiership matches are broadcast in over 150 countries, according to the SPFL, with the latest agreements struck in Japan and South Korea.
Andreas Kaeshammer, Infront’s head of football, said: “Our continued partnership with SPFL speaks volumes about our collective achievements over the past years. We've unlocked new opportunities for SPFL, both in terms of broadcast territories and digital footprint. This renewed commitment allows us to further build on this momentum and continue elevating Scottish football on a global scale.”
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster added: “The strong interest we received during the recent competitive tendering process underlines the increasing demand from broadcasters for the excitement and drama of the SPFL.
“These contracts come on the back of record fee payments to the 42 SPFL clubs announced in the past year and, alongside our recently extended record agreement with Sky Sports, will play a major role in strengthening the financial future of the SPFL.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Sky Sports, BBC Scotland, and Infront to bring the passion, skill, and drama of the cinch SPFL to millions more football fans worldwide.”
