Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

I'm not disputing that the old Rangers were a TV draw. They were the reigning SPL champions and were one of the biggest teams in Scotland. My point is that ESPN have never totally focussed on the Glasgow Clubs. The current agreement doesn't expire until the end of next season and the new agreement remains unsigned.... the point I was making that ESPN have done the maths and were willing to increase the contract. Sky have the lions share because they want 4 old firm games. They can't have that anymore so there's bound to be some renegotiation.

Both Sky and ESPN have agreed that they will continue to support the SPL. If I were a club chairman I'd be counting on less TV money after this year and start adjusting my business model.

Alternatively, they could look at the SPL TV project again?

It will be interesting to see what the crowds are in the SPL are next year after the many proclamations of fan boycotts if the NewClub were voted into the SPL. I suspect that there will be an initial boost, possibly sustained by those clubs challenging at the top, but petering out as the season goes on.

To be honest friends of mine who are Rangers fans and hold similar views to youself are embarrassed by the lack of dignity shown by the former football people. I'm sure fans of both Glasgow clubs have been embarrassed in the past when the cameras always find some knukledragging dimwit to interview but unfortunately some of the least dignified stuff has came from Smith McCoist and Jardine. Chuckie Green is an barrow boy and I almost feel sorry that friends of mine are reduced to seeing their former club in the hands of Nanny Green. ( I said almost ;))

I previously had a sneaking admiration for McCoist but he's proven himself to a sneaky, snidey chancer.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

I just hope the SPL survives. It would be terrible if the Scottish game suffered as a result of 1 clubs recklessness. Motherwell have already suggested they may face administration due to Rangers dropping out of the league.

There is also a suggestion that Rangers might get expelled from next seasons Scottish Cup. Live television coverage of the Scottish FA Cup is currently shared between BBC Scotland and Sky Sports. Again I wonder how SKY will feel knowing Rangers won't feature in any of their coverage.

BBC ALBA screens live coverage of matches from the Scottish First Division including the end of season play-offs as well as live coverage of the Scottish Challenge Cup. So it looks like Rangers fans might see their team on TV after all.

I might cancel my subscription to SKY Sports in the summer. I only watch Rangers, Scotland, boxing and tennis when Andy Murray is playing. Rangers are pretty much a no go, Scotland away games are on BBC One Scotland, SKY have slashed their boxing coverage to 20 shows in the year and I can still see plenty of tennis on ESPN, Eurosport, BBC and ITV. I doubt I'll even watch 2 hours of programming on ESPN per week now.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Interesting read

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...redirect=false

Could it be that BSKYB's biggest competition is to come from BT.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Yes a very interesting read but it will take some considerable time in mind mind to dent Skys subscriber base and not just that as it will also require a bottomless pit of money for long into the future.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Sky are removing distractions from competition with BT.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18590415

Virgin will do well to avoid being squeezed by BT/Sky.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Good read. I think BT need to launch some HD channels, plus the 100 or so popular channels they don't currently broadcast in order to compete with SKY and Virgin. In fact they will need to invest in a new PVR to compete with SKY+ and TiVo. As the article also suggests, BT will need a massive advetising campaign to try and tempt people to leave their current providers. It'll be interesting to see how BT develope their strategy in the next 10 months.

I never got the sense that ESPN was a massive success. ESPN had a HD channel, ESPN America and ESPN Classic not to mention a fair selection of TV rights accross a variety of popular sports. What can BT do to make their channel more of a success?

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

What sports rights are available from 2013? I am aware of quite a few which are tied up beyond that. I guess ESPN, BT, Eurosport and Premier Sports would all be looking. Is there enough good stuff to go around?

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Perhaps ESPN will have Rangers matches back when they lose the premier league.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18625293

Though reading the above carefully, there seems to be the possibility of dissent from a number of quarters.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

I think Rangers in Divison 1 will be snapped up by Premier Sports. They already carry Rangers and Celtic TV and are always looking to snap up new football rights.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

From the BBC football gossip column

Rangers appear to be heading for the Third Division after Dunfermline Athletic, Falkirk and Partick Thistle joined Morton and in saying they would vote against the Ibrox "newco" being allowed into Division One.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

I suspect you can add Raith Rovers to that list:

http://www.raithrovers.net/3766/stat...-directors.htm

or am I just reading between the lines ;)

I wonder if McCoist and Jardines bully boy tactics are coming back to haunt the newco's prospects

http://local.stv.tv/glasgow/305201-r...ment-decision/

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

You can add Clyde to the growing list. They've come out in the last 3 hours with a similar statement to Raith Rovers. There is a very interesting debate on BBC Scotland right now. There is a suggestion that this won't be worked out in time for the start of the season and Rangers (Newco) might be told to take this season off! There has also been a suggestion in the past 24 hours that Rangers (Newco) themselves might go into administration if things aren't sorted out swiftly. Rangers fans will not renew their season tickets until they know what is happening. Rangers (Newco) have virtually no revenue stream at the moment. There is a real chance that Rangers might not exist in any form within the next 5 weeks.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Statement from Clyde

http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/inde...owtopic=224738

As much as I was keen to see Rangers v Celtic games back as soon as possible, it is hard to argue against this.

---------- Post added at 15:14 ---------- Previous post was at 15:08 ----------

Beat me to it Chad. But if Rangers aren't let in to, at least, Div 3 wouldn't that leave a league with only nine clubs?

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

Yeah it'll mean one of the leagues will go a team down. Scottish football is in a total mess. One team going into liquidation is having a massive impact on all 42 clubs.

Lets rewind 4 years ago when Gretna went into liquidation.

The team struggled badly in the SPL and the club were placed in administration when businessman Brooks Mileson, its main financial backer, withdrew funds due to ill health. At the end of the season, all of the club's staff were made redundant and the club were relegated to the Third Division. After this demotion, the one remaining offer to buy the club was withdrawn. The club resigned their place in the Scottish Football League on 3 June and were formally liquidated on 8 August.

Funny how the SPL / SFA weren't bending over backwards to shake-up Scottish football to accommodate Gretna.

Unless Rangers go down to division 3, Scottish football as a whole will be nothing short of corrupt.

Re: ESPN may lose EPL Football(Update)
 

It seems to me that Scottish football is in total meltdown from what I have read. Scottish football seems to have survived on Celtic V Rangers, now that is at an end, where next ?