The SPFL has signed an improved deal with Premier Sports to extend their Premier Sports Cup coverage and title sponsorship until summer 2031.
The league and broadcaster have agreed a four-year extension to the deal, covering broadcast rights and title sponsorship for the cup competition, which kicks off this Friday.
Premier Sports has also agreed a deal to broadcast matches from the KDM Evolution Trophy for the first time. The broadcaster will now show a minimum of four games from that competition this season, with the option to show further matches.
The Premier Sports Cup deal extension comes after last season’s competition welcomed record total crowds of 440,697, culminating in a dramatic Premier Sports Cup final, which Celtic won 5-4 on penalties following a thrilling 3-3 draw with Rangers.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive, said: “We place great value on our long-standing partnership with Premier Sports and it’s brilliant news that we’ve agreed a major extension for the Premier Sports Cup for a further four years.
“Premier Sports continue to be a fantastic supporter of our game, with their high-quality coverage of SPFL matches, and their ongoing commitment is a real boost for Scottish football. We look forward to working together to build on the success of the Premier Sports Cup in the seasons ahead.
“We’re also happy to confirm that fans will now be able to enjoy coverage of the KDM Evolution Trophy on the channel for the first time as we welcome our new competition format. Crucially, these latest deals also underpin record prize money for clubs in the Premier Sports Cup and the KDM Evolution Trophy this season.”
Premier Sports will again stream live 25 group stage matches from the Premier Sports Cup, alongside five group stage live TV broadcasts and live coverage of the latter stages of the competition. Six games will be streamed live at 3pm this Saturday, with Derek McInnes' first competitive match as Hearts manager shown live on TV at 5.15pm that day as the Tynecastle club hosts Dunfermline Athletic. The first game of the tournament is Edinburgh City v Partick Thistle, which takes place at 7.45pm on Friday.
The new deal comes just weeks after it was announced the SPFL has also agreed changes to its long-term broadcast deals with Premier Sports and Sky Sports to allow two post-split, bottom six matches to be shown live on Premier Sports from season 2025/26.
The SPFL and Premier Sports signed a five-season contract last year for the broadcaster to show 20 live William Hill Premiership matches per season in the UK and Ireland, and that has now risen to 22 matches.
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