Premier Sports agree deal with SPFL to show Premiership bottom-six matches

The SPFL has agreed a new deal with Premier Sports that will see the broadcaster show two post-split bottom six matches live from next season.

Premier Sports signed a five-year contract with the league body last year that allows them to show 20 live Premiership games per season but only for pre-split games.

Sky Sports’ contract gave them exclusive rights to the post-split games for top and bottom-six fixtures, though their output has tended to focus on the top half of the table.

All three parties have now agreed a new deal that will see two post-split matches, which could decide relegation or play-off places, shown on Premier Sports. Those games will be in addition to the original agreement, taking the broadcaster’s selections up to 22 games per season in total.

SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster welcomed the move.

“This is great news for Scottish football fans and our William Hill Premiership clubs,” he said.

“We know supporters have been keen to tune into the most exciting games in the bottom six as clubs battle to avoid relegation, and we’ve been discussing that situation with our broadcast partners over recent months.

“We’d like to thank Sky Sports and Premier Sports for their support in agreeing this change to their broadcast contracts, and for their continued excellent coverage of our national game.”

Richard Webb, director of operations at Premier Sports, commented: “We’re delighted to be expanding our SPFL coverage to include the matches that matter right to the very end of the season. These post-split games often carry huge drama and significance and we’re proud to bring them live to fans from next season.

“We would like to thank the SPFL and Sky for making this possible. Alongside our growing portfolio of Scottish football coverage, this is another great step forward for Premier Sports in Scotland.”

The matches will also be available to subscribers on Premier Sports via STV Player+, in addition to Scottish Cup, Premier Sports Cup and United Rugby Championship games.