BBC Scotland and SPL agree new TV, radio and online deal

BBC Scotland has agreed a new three-year deal with the Scottish Premier League to cover matches across television, radio and online.

The contract begins in season 2013/14.

The deal allows BBC Scotland to broadcast TV highlights on Sportscene, cover matches live on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound and publish match highlights on the BBC Sport website.

Live TV match coverage is provided by Sky and from this summer BT Vision will take over ESPN's rights until 2017.

BBC Scotland has been covering Scottish football's top tier continuously for the past six years.

The new deal also means BBC Scotland can continue to provide up to 10 live radio commentaries each season of Rangers' games and post the club's match highlights online.

BBC Scotland's head of sport, Ewan Angus, said the contract extension gave the broadcaster "the opportunity to again take our audiences through all the twists and turns of the SPL campaign".

He said: "There has been no shortage of talking points this season and our offering enables our audiences to stay on the ball, whether they are listening or watching at home or enjoying the content on the move with mobile technology."

Neil Doncaster, the SPL's chief executive, said: "The extended BBC deal ensures that SPL football will continue to be available on terrestrial television, as well as online and on mobile, making the league as accessible as possible for supporters.

"In the current economic climate, announcing a three-year partnership is also excellent news for our clubs."