Don’t know how they are getting away with this but it seems they are. Not sure other clubs will be pleased but seems to be a done deal..
Rangers and Sky Sports have agreed an innovative
TVrights swap deal that will see an extra live match broadcast from Ibrox on the satellite channel during the remainder of the current season.
And it's understood that in return Rangers have received the ability to broadcast two more home games on Pay Per View.
The club already beam out live from every match to the rest of the
world but only five Ibrox contests can be shown in the UK as part of the TV deal. The new arrangement means British viewers will now be able to stump up for a further pair of home matches on demand direct from the club.
The agreement comes on the back of relationship building behind the scenes between the Rangers hierarchy and Sky led by CEO James Bisgrove and new commercial director Karim Virani. While there has been criticism in the past of the quantum involved in the SPFL's TV deal this has never been aimed towards the broadcaster who the club feel are an excellent partner.
While PPV matches offer a lucrative revenue stream for Rangers to tap into further there are also other factors at play. With further Thursday night European games still to come in the last 16 of the Europe League and potentially beyond, more Sunday matches are a certainty - a situation that can cause
travel difficulties for some supporters and makes offering PPV an appealing option.
Sky are were allowed to broadcast just four times from each ground, meaning that once the two Old Firm games are taken into account they have to be very careful about their choices given the potential need to broadcast a post-split title decider.
One Old Firm game at Ibrox has already been ticked off and the next one will hit screens in early April. Cameras will aslo be present when Phillipe Clement's men will also face Aberdeen at their home stadium on February 6th.
And now the broadcaster has two more opportunities to consider as the season threatens to be a close-run title race.