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Highlights of the Scottish Premier League are coming to YouTube. Google’s video sharing site has struck a deal to show the best bits of this season’s Saltire-sporting soccer, the first without Rangers.
YouTube has non-exclusive rights, so you’ll still be able to see the best bits of those matches on TV or elsewhere: TV channels STV and BBC Scotland, and multimedia content distributors Perform Group, which partners with football clubs to show games on their websites (including the mighty Tranmere Rovers, pride of Merseyside, since you ask).
Rangers were relegated to the Scottish third division last month as punishment for financial irregularities, ending a century of Old Firm derbies with Glasgow rivals Celtic. Update: Commenters have asked us to clarify that just because one season Rangers were in the top division and the next they’re in the bottom division, they weren’t relegated. The club in fact went bust and has re-entered the league as a new company, which is a totally different thing. I feel for fans to have been let down so badly by the club’s management.
YouTube’s deal could pave the way for highlights of the English Premier League to appear on YouTube. As one of the most-watched leagues in the world, Premiership rights are hotly contested: the next three seasons’ live games sold for an eye-watering £3bn to Sky and BT, more than double the previous price.
The Premier League is yet to reveal who gets the rights to other types of broadcast, including showing repeats of games after they’ve been played — whether on-demand or on TV — and the rights to show highlights online. Online highlights rights are currently held by Yahoo, with ESPN holding the rights to show clips on phone and tablets.
YouTube mothership Google could bid for the EPL online rights, which could resolve the long-simmering dispute between Google and the Premier League over copyright of football clips uploaded to the video-sharing site.
If you’re a Sky customers you’ll be able to watch English Premier League matches online and on your phone and tablet via Sky Go — or if you don’t have a dish you’ll still be able to watch live games on Sky Sports channels via Sky’s Now TV online service later this month.
It’s not just cat videos on YouTube: as well as sports, high-definition films can be rented on the video site, alongside a range of free movies of what can be charitably described as variable quality.
Also online, the legendary FA Cup kicks off live on Facebook. The opening fixture between non-league sides Ascot United and Wembley FC is streamed live on the Budweiser fan page at 7.45pm on Friday. If you’re 18 or over you could see legends David Seaman, Graeme Le Saux, Ray Parlour and Claudio Carniggia in action for Budweiser-sponsored Wembley, a club advised by Terry Venables.
Update 13 August: A previous version of this story contained a word that readers objected to in the strongest possible terms, leading to this story being removed from the site over the weekend. The offending word has been removed.
