There are several perennial questions in Scottish football which keep cropping up time after time. Like Celtic and the Rangers moving to the English Premier League, or the Premiership format with its split, and of course now, VAR has been added to the list of topics that are always for debate.
There has been a bit more focus of late on the likelihood, or otherwise, of the Glasgow giants making a move to the English Premier League. It has been suggested as a way to increase the competitiveness of the Scottish league. Although, losing its two most popular teams by miles, would be a major blow.
The discussion has also prompted more focus on the current format of the Premiership. The 12-team top league structure with its top and bottom six split for the run in towards the title and relegation has many critics, but less suggestions in the way of better alternatives.
This is where a significant point about the structure, locking in both Celtic and the Rangers, is often overlooked. It’s linked to the TV deals in place.
Celtic and Rangers locked into Scottish Premiership format
The television deal is based upon the broadcaster getting 4 league matches between the two Glasgow giants. That’s pretty much guaranteed in the current format with it being unlikely either would slip out of the top six, which guarantees them meeting in the last round of league matches.
Any proposals to restructure the league, perhaps by introducing more teams, would have to find a way to protect those four Glasgow Derbies. Otherwise, would it be likely to mean an even smaller TV deal in the future than the one the Premiership currently has?
Removing the split entirely and having each of the current 12 teams play each other 4 times increases the number of matches from 38 to 44, well beyond what is feasible alongside Europe, cups and international breaks. And those extra matches aren’t that likely to bring in much more TV money either.