Celtic should be watching Sky’s new streaming service carefully. That’s our future.

One of the things that consistently annoys me is the increasing dominance of television over how our game is run. This has been especially true this season, more so than I can remember. The way the TV schedule has upended the fixture list is mind-boggling. Let me share some details.

Yesterday was only our second Saturday kick-off in the league this season, and it’s no surprise that the manager isn’t particularly happy with the timing of the match. He spoke about this in his Friday press conference, clearly frustrated, especially since Dortmund were playing a game that night; there is no reason that Premier Sports and the league could not have organised that for us as well.

(Not that I’m necessarily complaining, based on how dominant we were.)

Purists and traditionalists will lament the loss of the classic Saturday 3:00 PM kick-off. However, in Scottish football, that has become a rare occurrence anyway. We might occasionally have a Saturday home game at that time, but away fixtures? That seems to be a thing of the past, and for the foreseeable future. There are both positive and negative aspects to this shift.

Let’s tackle the negatives first.

The downsides are clear. The constant rescheduling shows a certain disregard for supporters who want to attend games at normal times. Another downside is the cost. When matches are scattered across four or five different streaming services, fans face a dilemma: whether to pay for all of them legally, or find a way to get some through less-than-legal means, or miss out altogether.

While that’s the negative, we have to acknowledge that having these options is still an improvement compared to when I was growing up watching football 20 years ago.

Back then, if you couldn’t attend a game and it wasn’t on TV, you were stuck listening to the dulcet tones of Hugh Kevins and others on whichever radio station happened to be covering it, assuming they weren’t all crammed into Ibrox.

Modern fans no longer have to worry about that. Even if your game isn’t on TV or you don’t have a TV nearby, there are numerous betting apps where you can watch a 2D approximation of football, and the club itself provides audio coverage for all matches on its website.

As I’ve said before, we, as Celtic fans, are in a uniquely fortunate position. While streaming services have made games accessible to more fans than ever before and it is now possible for English football fans to watch virtually all their games from the comfort of their homes—if they’re willing to pay the extortionate fees – until very recently, the norm was to see home games if you attended them, and away games only if they were selected for television.

It’s been ages since Celtic fans had to worry about that; virtually all our league away matches are available on some streaming platform or another. In the rare case that an away match isn’t picked up for television, the home club can now stream it on their website as part of an agreement that includes a small number of pay-per-view matches each season.

I’ve paid the likes of Livingston, Motherwell and Hibs for games over the past couple of years and as long as I get to see my team I don’t mind that one bit.

This means that if you’re willing to pay, and lots of our fans are, you can virtually guarantee access to every away match as well as home games. Even those friends without season tickets can generally find streams for home games if they look around online. However, it’s worth noting that such methods are frowned upon by both clubs and leagues.

Instead, let’s focus on the legitimate services provided for us by TV companies and clubs, albeit at a great expense. In this respect, we are indeed in a privileged position. No other club, apart from the one across town, enjoys such regular television coverage.

That said, streaming services have made English league football available to all their supporters, and it raises questions about what this means for our own club in the future.

The Premier League is fiercely guarding its match rights, and as of now, it’s not possible for away fans in that competition to watch all their clubs’ games via streaming services. However, they’re inching closer, as this is the model in most European leagues.

I keep hearing how the SFA claims Scottish clubs are against implementing a similar system, which is purported to be the reason for our meagre television deal.

However, as I observe Sky’s new streaming service and the number of channels involved, it becomes increasingly clear that the football landscape is shifting—whether Scottish football wants to adapt or not. It would be typical for us to lock ourselves out of this change and respond with the same backward, idiotic mentality we often have toward reform and progression.

COVID-19 prompted some progress; clubs introduced the opportunity for fans to watch all their games via live streaming services. This experiment was interesting and successful, showing that fans were willing to embrace it. Yet, the moment supporters were allowed back into the grounds, they flooded back.

We all love the live match experience—there’s simply no substitute for it. I could have easily watched the Bratislava game at home with a few beers, but being there that night brought an electric thrill, a hairs-on-the-back-of-your-neck quality that you just don’t get when watching from home.

Ultimately, Scottish football must decide how and when it will properly enter the streaming age and how our TV deals can align with those in other countries so we finally receive fair value for them. Currently, teams are paid a pittance from these contracts.

While I understand the concern that clubs want to protect their home attendances, we must consider how much a St. Johnstone, St. Mirren, or Hibs makes annually from season ticket sales and TV revenue combined. The only question should be whether a larger TV deal—including all matches on a streaming service—could top that number.

I believe it would, in almost all cases, if we had serious people negotiating it. The current figures are so pitifully small that any deal comparable to those in other countries would far exceed what we currently have and provide clubs with more money to spend.

Moreover, I’m not convinced attendances would drop significantly for the reasons I’ve outlined. The live match experience is still the best way to enjoy football, and every fan knows this. There’s nothing like being at a live event. I’ve had great days watching Celtic in the pub with friends, but the thrill of being there for a big match—it’s simply on a different level.

Analysis exists from other leagues that have sold broadcast rights for all games to streaming services or TV companies. There are statistics on how this affected attendances, and I would wager that the clubs themselves are healthier as a result, along with their leagues.

COVID-19 showed us a glimpse of football’s potential future—a virtual season ticket to complement actual season tickets.

With an alleged waiting list of 10,000 people, each of them represents a potential customer for a virtual ticket. It may not be the same as buying a physical ticket, but that’s why we have that waiting list in the first place; fans prefer to be at the games than not.

Of course, tech-savvy fans can find every Celtic game online already; that hasn’t stopped many of them from putting their names down for season tickets, and waiting every summer in the hope that someone from Celtic gets in touch to offer them one.

For us, it seems clear that this is something we should pursue in the future. TV money in Scotland is rank, and unless our game embraces these changes, we’ll continue to fall further behind. Television is here to stay, and if it’s going to continue to disrupt our game, we might as well receive proper market value for it.

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