Ron Gordon is convinced the new Sky Sports TV deal is Scottish football's best option and would be crucial in aiding the SPFL to hit its £50million jackpot. The Hibs supremo, along with bosses from Hearts, Aberdeen, Dundee United and Dundee, believe our game's revenue can be grown by £28.4million by 2029 after commissioning an independent Deloitte into enhancing finances.
The review's findings have been put to clubs and it's believed that with added incentives the cash flow into the Scottish game can be markedly enhanced over the next seven years. Gordon knows the biggest driver in this will be the television deal.
Record Sport revealed last week that SPFL chiefs were in talks about a deal which will hit the £30 million-a-season and see the number of live games be increased to 60. The Hibs chairman said: “I feel Sky are the best partners for us but the Deloitte report also validated this. I feel they are the best partner for us, for a variety of reasons.
“They are tried and true and all we are trying to do is to make it better. It is also the home of the best football in the UK. The Premier League is there and we are the little brother of the Premier League.
“If you want to see top football then you want to be on Sky. That is not to say there won’t be other players further down the road because we will have opportunities to go with a second package in three years, assuming this Sky deal moves the way we all think it is going to move. I don’t have any visibility of anybody who can play to the level of Sky as it stands.”
Gordon also knows other similar leagues have far bigger television revenues but they also show just about all their fixtures. He believes having a pay-per-view option as part of the new deal will be another money-maker and also not have an impact at the turnstiles.
The American explained: “A lot of leagues have bigger numbers but a lot of them show every game. The revenues at the game are not what they are in Scotland, we have the highest per capita rate of any league in Europe.
“What we are doing with the Sky relationship is to have more games because we have to get more money but not at the expense of our gate. We have put two things on the table. More games so it is potentially going up to 60 games per season and then 80 games, that is out of more than 200 plus games.
“We are also in talks about pay-per-view. We don’t have that at the moment and we are trying to carve that out, which would be excellent. We want to protect our gate, have more exposure and create another revenue through the pay-per-view which we currently don’t have.”
The report has stated there are five areas to really push on. They are broadcast, commercial, investment in women’s game, a pathway structure for younger players and improving the brand of the league. Gordon believes the report has the backing of the majority of the clubs. He knows they have set stiff figures that they have to aim high.
Gordon insisted: “It is an aspirational goal. I don’t want you to think it is a one foot putt, it is probably more of an eight foot putt.
“The truth is what I think we are going to do with our broadcasting rights and if we make the investment in the commercial product and team then I think we can double our commercial revenues over the next five years. The women’s game is a totally open goal.
“Loads of brands and companies want to back and support the women’s game. That is important for us to build more professional activities and to grow the women’s game, which is also our goal.
“All those elements are very doable. I have visibility and when I presented it to the Premiership clubs 10 days ago I gave them a visibility to get to the £50 million.
"We could potentially get to £50m. We might not get to the £50 million but I would venture to say we would be at a minimum over the mid 40s, about £45 or £46 million. If we do, it is still a long way from where we are today.”
