Second Class Citizens - Sky and the SPFL

Sky, today, raised the heckles of many Scottish fans after delaying the start of coverage of Aberdeen vs Celtic so they could stick with the European Tour Golf playoff that was happening at the time.



While it was undoubtedly a popular decision in the home of such Scottish football journalists as Ewan Murray, the reduction in the broadcast (understandably) annoyed people who see Sky as having taken the Scottish game for a ride anyway. A Sky journalist even had the temerity to deliver some contemptuous remarks back, specifically aimed at those behind the Terrace podcast.

Obviously, I rarely like to point fingers at a specific broadcaster, but the fact is that people prefer to take Sky to task because their coverage is inferior to that of BT. The reason people feel annoyance at Sky today is because they could put coverage of either the golf or the football onto the Red Button but didn’t. They simply said the football is off till the golf is over. It is, however, hardly the only thing people take umbrage at Sky’s coverage about.

Why do Sky get such ire? The issue with Sky’s coverage comes from the very first second of the broadcast. The intro to the SPFL of various fans shouting out their teams names in as irritating a fashion as possible (with special mention to the St Johnstone fan) isn’t just annoying, it’s also been exactly the same for over 5 years - as you can see on YouTube, from the 09-10 season at least - with only the teams changing and some of the fans (again, the St Johnstone fan hasn’t changed a bit when in real life the kid is probably through puberty and doing his Highers).

Opening the broadcast with this, bluntly, shite immediately dates the programme by, funnily enough, five or six years as not only does everyone know it’s an old intro, it’s also not all filmed in HD. It also gives the impression that the viewer needs reminding who is in the league before watching it. The EPL doesn’t have kids shouting “Man United!!!” Because everyone knows they are in the league and it’s implied. It is irritating, dated and condescending all in one.

We then move into the punditry. While there is little doubt that David Tanner and Neil McCann are polished, the fact remains that they offer next to nothing in insight and have been given a long time in the role to prove themselves. The fact is that they are on SPFL games for the sole reason that Sky does not see them as talented enough to move to the EPL coverage. The opportunity for promotion is there - Davie Provan is proof of that, yet Tanner and McCann lurk in Sky’s version of purgatory forever without ever getting freshened, repaired or replaced, like a pair of used tampons flushed down the toilet blocking the entire house up preventing anything new from coming into the system and with little hope of ever actually completing the journey themselves. The same is true for Ian Crocker and Andy Walker on commentary, albeit Crocker can likely put himself down as the voice of Scottish football on his CV.

It is a factual statement to say that BT don’t have either of these problems. For a start, they don’t really have an intro they simply go straight into the action, and they offer a wider, more varied range of punditry than Sky. While we may have to put up with Stephen Craigan and his curmudgeonliness, it is balanced out by other regular contributors like Ian Baraclough and Stuart McCall. Where Sky tend to talk down the game and focus on the negatives, BT tend to present a more positive outlook and, importantly, do it from more provincial grounds rather than relying on Celtic and Rangers being in every game. On commentary, they have Derek Rae, who knows something about everyone, is BT’s go to guy for commentary and does it all without grating, and Gary McAllister who is at least genial. Where Sky tend to advertise EPL and any game that’s not in the SPFL on their SPFL coverage, BT actually promote the SPFL on the SPFL coverage. BT Sport don’t do anything revolutionary, but it is very easy for Sky to correct their path and match them.

The problem is, and the difference between the two, is that the a SPFL matters to BT Sport whereas it is far further down the ladder for Sky. For BT’s rights, the SPFL is their fourth most important property behind the FA Cup, EPL and the Aviva Premiership. Even with the introduction of the Champions League rights, it will still be top five. For Sky, the SPFL ranks behind the following (deep breath, everyone) the EPL, Champions League, La Liga (or, at least. Barca and Real), PDC Darts, Super League, WWE, Cricket, Heineken Cup, Golf, Football League and ATP Tennis. That is 11 properties (and, to be fair, for much of it, I have not divided it into constituent parts - were I to, there would be more ahead of the SPFL, not least European and U.S. tour golf). Were you Sky, why would you put the effort into something that doesn’t even rank in the top 10 draws to your channel?

And therein lies the problem. The SPFL brings so few unique subscribers (and it’s the Unique part that matters) to Sky compared to other football properties and sports, that there is no incentive for Sky to invest in improving their service or to change anything at all. As such, Scottish fans have to get used to receiving below par treatment from Sky and face up to the fact that to find voices that promote our game, they need BT, they need to listen to the BBC (and even then, only Richard Gordon and Jim Spence) or they need to find independent sources (such as the Terrace podcast).

So we can bitch and moan all we like but until there is an economic reason for Sky to get their act together, then little will change.

Right down to the St Johnstone kid shouting “Sunt Jahnstaaaaannn” on top of a hay bale. For a hundred years.