In a bit of recent news, Paramount+ acquires Scottish Premiership rights through the 2024/25 season. The first games under the new deal begin Saturday, July 31, according to World Soccer Talk sources. Select matches will be available via CBS Sports Network and Paramount+, the streaming service that’s in a tug of war with ESPN+ to acquire as many soccer rights as possible for viewers in the United States.
The majority of select matches aired will be streamed on Paramount+. In addition to the Scottish Premiership, CBS Sports have picked up the rights to the Scottish Championship and Scottish League Cup (also known as the Premier Sports Cup). Those games will air on Paramount+ too.
CBS Sports and Paramount+ continue to expand their arsenal of soccer rights. With more than 2,000 live matches airing per season, Paramount+ also has acquired rights to Serie A (debuting August 21), UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Europa Conference League, NWSL, Argentine league, Brasileirao, Concacaf Nations League, Concacaf World Cup qualifiers, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana, The Women’s Cup, Asian World Cup qualifiers, AFC Champions League, AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2022, AFC Asian Cup China 2023, and, beginning in 2022, the Supercopa Argentina (English-language).
According to our sources, CBS Sports are interested in acquiring more soccer rights in the next six months as it continues to build out a wealth of soccer programming in addition to its hit TV shows, movies and original programming.
In the streaming wars, Paramount+ is competing against giants Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and others in a race to acquire new subscribers.
Already this year, ESPN+ has acquired the exclusive rights to LaLiga in a deal where ESPN reportedly paid $1.4 billion for the games through the 2028/2029 season.
For fans of Scottish football, the rights to the Scottish Premiership have bounced around more than any other league in the last decade. Moving to Paramount+ this season was preceded by one year of matches on ESPN+ for the 2020/21 season. Prior to that, B/R Live had the rights for the 2019/20 season. There have been seasons where the league wasn’t available via a broadcaster, but was only available via club TV channels. FOX Sports also had the rights to the league for a short time.
SEE MORE: Schedule of Scottish Premiership games on US TV and streaming
The Scottish Premiership is one of the oldest and most-storied leagues in football, and features one of the most intense rivalries in any sport – the “Old Firm” rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. The first competitive derby between the two was in 1888, two years before the launch of the Scottish League in 1890. Every Old Firm game will air either on Paramount+ or CBS Sports Network.
While select games will be available on Paramount+ each matchweek, Scottish Premiership clubs will continue to offer their own streaming services for home and away matches. While that may sound tempting, be prepared for a sticker shock. The prices can be more than $250 per season.
With Paramount+, the Essential Plan is $4.99 per month. A free 7-day trial is available if you want to try it first.
Paramount+ is available via PC or Mac as well as Roku, iPhone and Android phones, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation 4, Samsung smart TV, Vizio and XBOX One.
CBS officially announced more details about the deal.
Scottish Premiership TV schedule
All times Eastern USA
Sunday, November 10
- 10:00 AM ET
Kilmarnock vs. Celtic (Scottish Premiership)
- 12:00 PM ET
Rangers vs. Hearts (Scottish Premiership)
- 10:00 AM ET
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