The Scottish Professional Football League has agreed a 10-year broadcast deal which will allow matches to be shown live to around 60 million viewers in China.
The deal with PPLive TV was announced yesterday and forms part of a wider £20m international contract with sports media rights firm MP & Silva, with Spanish and English matches also among the matches to be broadcast as part of a European football selection on the online station.
A total of 58 SPFL fixtures are to be screened in China, the first time that live Scottish games have been shown in the country. Details of the contract were revealed yesterday as part of First Minister Alex Salmond's five-day trade mission to China and drew keen admiration from Neil Doncaster, the SPFL chief executive, who had also made the trip to Beijing.
Doncaster also looked ahead to the prospect of extending similar deals to other markets across the world. "This is a brilliant result for Scottish football and the Scottish Professional Football League," he said."We want to build on this opportunity, not only in China but across other significant global markets. Discussions with several potential partners are ongoing.
"We aim to significantly raise the profile and popularity of our game among global audiences, with the resultant financial spin-offs and commercial opportunities for the SPFL and our member clubs."
The financial implications for clubs in the SPFL was alighted upon by Salmond, too, who hoped that the contract would allow supporters in this country to look forward to a better future for the game.
"There is clearly a growing appetite for European football coverage in China and now fans will be able to enjoy the action from iconic Scottish venues such as Easter Road, Fir Park and Pittodrie," said Salmond. "There have been tough times in Scottish football recently, but with news that clubs can look forward to a £20m boost as part of this fantastic broadcasting deal, I am confident the fans can look forward to a bright future."
Peter Lawwell, the Celtic chief executive, had also made the trip as part of the delegation in China and spoke about the new broadcasting deal on behalf of SPFL clubs. "Celtic has already played a leading role in promoting the Scottish game to global audiences, mainly through our recent participation and successes in the Champions League, and we see China as a country with enormous potential. This deal shows the ambition of the SPFL and its clubs to continue to expand the Scottish game into new worldwide territories."
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