Well, it’s official. Setanta UK are consigned to the “Televised Football Book of Remembrance” along with other greats such as Saint & Greavsie (and another now defunct show they once presented, On the Ball), our very own Scotsport and the occasional episode of Andy Camerons Cup Final Cavalcade.
Now, I never got Setanta so I can’t really comment on the quality of their programme output or, more importantly, the quality of their female presenters. In other words, I won’t miss them all that much. To me, Setanta are like a distant aunt that emigrated to Australia years ago, the one you’ve only heard about but never actually met and who has just died without leaving you any money.
But clearly the SPL, and its constituent teams will we wailing over Setanta’s demise with all the gusto of Italian widows at a particularly upsetting funeral. The average loss in revenue per club has been estimated by David Glen of PriceWaterhouseCoopers at approximately £1m per club, a sum that represents anywhere up to 30% of an SPL club’s revenue. While some clubs – in particular Hearts and Kilmarnock, two clubs with sizeable debts – will struggle without this revenue, others will manage. Earlier this week, Aberdeen Director of Football Willie Miller announced that the loss of Setanta (and the associated revenue) means the club will not be able to spend money to bring in new players.
Even for the Old Firm, for whom closure of the club’s TV stations they operated under a joint venture with the defunct Irish broadcaster has been the only visible sign of trouble, a brave decision needs to be made about investing in players.
Unlike the rest of the league, the Old Firm has greater access to sources of income: the Champions League. Based on figures from FIFA from last years Champions League, a club qualifying for the tournament earns £2.5m, with an additional £2m for reaching the group stages. In addition, each game a team wins earns them money (£513k), as does a draw (£250k). The prize money rises after that, based on how far a team goes and how much advertising revenue and ticket sales the teams and the tournament as a whole generates.
But to get there, squads need to be strengthened, and strengthening means money. For a club like Celtic, who, according to figures in the PriceWaterhouseCooper report for season 2007/08, had a wage bill of approximately £39m, spending money on transfers – of the scale needed to attract the best talent north – will only increase that wage bill and expose their risk should they not qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. And attracting players north continues to be a problem even for the Old Firm as reports in the media continue to circulate about the financial state of the game in Scotland, as well as the appeal of Scottish football in general.
The future viability of the Scottish Premier League depends on two things: getting a new television deal in conjunction with a period of financial prudence and austerity.
The SPL are working hard to find a new partner for the coming season. Both ESPN (who bought the EPL games from Setanta) and Sky (who own the other 5 football ‘packages’) are said to be interested, but the extent of their interest (i.e. probably only the Old Firm games) will lead to either a reduced offer or worse – none at all.
And either scenario is a potential headache for the SPL and for the fans that now face the real possibility of not seeing their teams games televised next season.
One possible outcome of a new deal not appearing is that the Old Firm (arguably the crown jewels in any future television deal) would force through a rule change that would allow teams to negotiate their own TV deals and screen their games through their own dedicated club television channels. It might also lead to the resurrection of the SPL’s own television station, a concept proposed five years ago by outgoing SPL chief Robert Mitchell (incidentally the same Robert Mitchell who earlier this week said that the Scottish football has no appeal outside of Scotland) and vetoed at the time by Rangers and Celtic.
Whatever happens, Scottish football is holding its breath.
Should a new deal not arrive – and it needs to arrive soon – many clubs could well be forced to make drastic changes as they learn to adapt in the difficult environment they have found themselves in. Reducing squad sizes (as Caley have done following their relegation to the First Division), making wage cuts and risk forcing many players down to The Championship and League 1, or increasing ticket prices, effectively pushing the cost of backing the wrong horse in the TV broadcasting race onto the very people who have neither a vote nor a voice in all of this: you and me. The fans.
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