The Scottish public and public broadcasters would benefit from Scottish Football being made free-to-air, but the ball is in UK’s court, says Brown.

In a bid to level the playing field for Scottish football fans, Keith Brown, MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane and Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party, met with representatives of the BBC to discuss making Scottish International Football matches free-to-air.  

Currently, Scottish men’s international matches are not broadcast on public television, unlike their English and Welsh counterparts. Scottish international matches are only available to Scottish football supporters via streaming service ViaPlay – at the cost of around £15 a month.  

The meeting was arranged after Mr. Brown had raised concerns at the Scottish Parliament’s Culture Committee in January – that Scottish football fans were in an “absurd situation, where we can’t see free-to-air international football matches, especially competitive ones involving our own national team, but we can see ones from other countries.”. 

Keith is advocating for international Scottish football matches to be considered as part of ‘The crown jewels’ – sporting events that must be free-to-air and are not permitted to be broadcast solely on paid television services – like the Olympics or FIFA World Cup. 

At the meeting, Mr. Brown pushed the BBC to commit to supporting the move – stating that it was in the BBC’s interest that Scotland’s national games should be free to broadcast, as last year, a survey showed that Scottish football had the highest match attendance per capita in European football.  

The so-called ‘crown jewels’ – events that must be free-to-air – are a matter of policy for the UK Government.  

Keith has therefore taken further action by writing to the UK’s Secretary of State for Media Lucy Frazer MP, and her shadow cabinet equivalent, Thangam Debbonaire MP on this issue, urging them to support his proposals, including in the event there is a change of Government in Westminster. 

SNP MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Keith Brown, said: 

“It is simply ludicrous that English and Welsh football fans, and many football fans across the world, can watch their national teams play on public television, but Scottish football fans can’t.  

“I raised this issue a few weeks ago in a Scottish Parliament committee, and from this, held a meeting with the BBC today to discuss the issue in more detail. 

“I put this point to them directly – and the BBC and many other organisations would of course benefit hugely from this move, as it would allow them to broadcast the games to a huge audience.  

“A survey released last year showed that Scottish football fans are the most likely to attend a match of any football fans in Europe – that shows how strong the public appetite is to watch our national team. 

“The reality is though that they are priced-out of what is a very competitive market – so it therefore must be a policy matter for the UK Government.  

“SNP MP’s have been active on this, but I’ve also written to the UK Government minister for Culture, and her Shadow Cabinet equivalent, to ensure that we hold all UK parties to account on implementing this move.”