In the world of football, the value of broadcasting rights can significantly impact a league's financial health and competitive standing. Recently, this topic has sparked a heated debate between Simon Jordan and Graeme Souness regarding the Scottish Premiership's worth to broadcasters.
Graeme Souness, a Liverpool legend, highlighted the vast disparity in broadcasting deals between the English Premier League (EPL) and its counterpart north of the border - The Scottish Premiership. This difference is not just a matter of numbers; it directly affects clubs' performance on an international level.
Souness pointed out that this lack of cash compared to top European leagues is one reason for Scottish clubs' struggles in prestigious tournaments like UEFA’s Champions League.
Graeme Souness, talkSPORT panelist, said:
“How unfairly has the world of football treated Scottish football when you think of Bournemouth where I live, little old Bournemouth with 11,000 people and not really a football town, getting £90million from TV and Glasgow Rangers get £3m. It’s the way it’s evolved. We have a population of five million in Scotland and 65 million in England.” But, debating the issue on talkSPORT, Jordan simply said: “Why is that? You've got a league that is worthless to broadcasters."
Simon Jordan agreed with Souness but added another layer to this discussion. He claimed that despite these financial constraints, certain teams should still be performing better against their group rivals.
Jordan backed up his claim by pointing to Celtic FC's disastrous showing in Champions League, winning none of their matches
Jordan specifically mentioned Celtic FC who crashed out of the UEFA Champions League group stage with a game to spare. According to him, Celtic should be doing better against teams like Feyenoord if not against continental superpowers.
Simon Jordan, talkSPORT panelist, said:
“Do you not think Celtic should be competing with teams like Feyenoord? I understand why they don't potentially compete with Napoli and other sides that are the top of the Champions League. But I look at the relationship with the financial landscape of Scottish football against Feyenoord and I say, 'Well you should be able to get as many points as Feyenoord get out of a group stage to at least get into Europa competition rather than go out of the Champions League with nothing."
The Scottish Premiership may currently be undervalued by broadcasters according to Jordan, it is up to the teams within the league to prove their worth on the field. This will not only enhance their performance but also potentially attract more lucrative broadcasting deals in future.
