Celtic, Rangers fuel TV cash row

GLASGOW, Scotland -- A split between the two giants of Scottish football and the rest of the league has widened over a dispute about television coverage.

Celtic and Rangers, the fierce "Old Firm" Glasgow rivals who have massive worldwide support and multi-million dollar turnovers, were on Tuesday reported to be in talks to set up their own deal with broadcasters.

It came after the two clubs on Monday blocked a proposed channel for the whole of the 12-club Scottish Premier League (SPL).

Celtic, already crowned Scottish champions this season, and second-placed Rangers expressed doubts that an SPL TV channel would attract enough subscribers.

But the smaller clubs are trying to hit back, according to press reports on Tuesday.

"Feelings are running so high among the 10 other member clubs, at what they perceive as a betrayal, that representatives of some have already discussed expelling the Glasgow pair and replacing them in the top 12," said the Glasgow-based Herald.

An editorial on the newspaper's Web site added: "They (Celtic and Rangers) would sell their principles, if they had any; sell their granny, if they had one. So selling out their colleagues comes as easily as the soft penalties which down through the years have also helped them dominate."

The Scotsman said the collapse of the planned TV channel left the league facing the prospect of no television coverage and losing TV revenue.

Currently BSkyB covers Scottish matches and pays the clubs a total of £10 million ($14 million) a year. Talks to renew the BSkyB contract broke down last year.

Rangers and Celtic attract sell-out crowds of more than 50,000 and 60,000, far in excess of other SPL teams. Monday's blocked deal also fuels speculation that the Glasgow pair want to break away from the SPL and enter the more lucrative English Premiership.

The row also highlights a growing crisis for clubs and broadcasters. Two weeks ago UK broadcaster ITV Digital went into administration, threatening the cash lifeline to dozens of lower league English clubs.

Meanwhile in Germany KirchMedia has been selling off its assets, leaving doubts over the future of leading Bundesliga clubs.

Financial consultant David Glen of PriceWaterhouseCoopers said he was surprised by the failure of the SPL channel plan.

"I was anticipating a compromise of some sort. But I wouldn't be surprised to see the clubs get around the table again because this needs to be sorted quickly," he told the Press Association.