UK pay-television broadcaster ESPN has agreed a new five-year deal, from 2012-13 to 2016-17, for rights covering the Scottish Premier League (SPL) and selected Glasgow Rangers games in the Scottish Football League Third Division.
ESPN will show 30 games live per season from the top-tier SPL and 10 Rangers games live per year from the Third Division.
Financial details have not been disclosed.
Earlier this week, ESPN’s UK pay-television rival, BSkyB, also acquired rights for the SPL and Rangers games covering the same five-year period. Sky will show 25 SPL games live per season, plus five Rangers matches per year.
The deals for ESPN and Sky have replaced five-year agreements, from 2012-13 to 2016-17, that the broadcasters agreed with the SPL before Rangers was demoted to the Third Division as a result of being liquidated and reformed as a new company. The previous deals were worth a combined £80 million (€103 million/$126 million) over five years.