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The Football Show · 12 October 2026
Scottish football gets just 3.8% of Sky Sports' total UK coverage - Gordon Park traces how the Sentanta vs Sky bidding war left Scottish football with a weaker deal once Sentanta collapsed, and why Scotland lacks the unique country TV deal that Scandinavian leagues enjoy. They cite a report putting Scottish football's share of Sky's total coverage at just 3.8%, while crediting Neil Doncaster and the SPFL board for still pushing broadcast revenue upward.
"Does that sound fair to you?" Gordon Parks on a report that Scottish football gets 3.8% of all the coverage Sky produces. Peter Martin explains how the Setanta collapse sent the SPFL back to Sky "cap in hand", why Scotland can't get the kind of country-only TV deal Scandinavian leagues have, and why he thinks Neil Doncaster and the SPFL board "have really battled away". From The Football Show, Friday 9 October 2026.
Transcript:
I do know. I don't know. I do know. I can tell you quite simply, because basically what happened was Setanta came on the scene. They played them off against each other. The SPFL decided to go with Setanta after being under the umbrella of security of Sky, and then when they folded, they had to go back cap in hand to Sky, and they had to accept a lesser deal, and it basically saved the league. And then from there it's been a long, slow process. And the other thing which Scandinavian clubs have over us is we do not have a situation that they have, which is a unique country deal. We have a situation where we are in the United Kingdom, witnessing huge, vast amounts of money being spent, whether it be taxpayers' money from the BBC or indeed the money from Sky and any other broadcaster, towards the English Premier League. So we're always going to be the paupers in any deal. We do not have the strength to suggest that our league can command huge amounts of money in a broadcast deal. We do not have broadcasters who are willing to pay vast amounts of money for it. So that's really the Catch-22. Ten years ago, if not more, they made a huge error with the Sky and the Setanta.
I'm not trying to diminish Neil Doncaster or this amount, which is sizeable when you're giving it to clubs. There was a report that came out that the coverage Scottish football gets is 3.8% of the entire coverage that Sky produces, right? Yes. Again, that's an anomaly to me, because if you're paying a subscription here for Sky and you're only getting 3.8% in the country that you're actually watching that in, does that sound fair to you? Does it sound equal?
No, but then again, business deals are not always fair. It's just one of those unfortunate things that Scotland has to put up with. Listen, I'm sure the League of Ireland and people elsewhere in Wales obviously look at it and just look on with great relish at what the English can command for the Premier League. The other good thing that the Premier League has managed to do very effectively is it's managed to sell the rights because of the real attraction of the English Premier League. They've been able to sell a deal to China, and they were also able to sell a deal across to the United States. So there's a huge demand, and if you only look at Asia, that whole continent, they love English football. So I think Neil Doncaster and the board have really battled away to try and get us on an upward curve. Not enough, everybody would like to see more money in the game, but nevertheless they've handed it out.
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