Live games from Scottish football’s revamped Challenge Cup competition will be be broadcast on three different networks throughout the 2016/17 season.
In addition to the support from longstanding competition broadcaster BBC ALBA, the SPFL has secured new broadcast deals with S4C in Wales and Premier Sports in Northern Ireland to cover selected fixtures from the IRN-BRU Cup.
The new-look competition is being expanded with the introduction of additional clubs from the Highland and Lowland Leagues, all Ladbrokes Premiership Under-20 teams and two representatives each from the Welsh Premier League and Northern Ireland Football League.
They will join the 30 Ladbrokes Championship, League 1 and League 2 teams to give an overall total of 54 competing in the new format across seven rounds, with the majority of fixtures taking place during international weekend breaks.
During rounds 1-3 inclusive, up to two matches per round will be shown live – one by BBC ALBA and one by Premier Sports – with a number of options available to all three broadcasters from Round 4 onwards, at which stage BBC ALBA, S4C and Premier Sports will all show live matches.
The first televised match from the competition will be broadcast by Premier Sports on Tuesday, August 2, with Celtic Under-20s facing Annan Athletic.
Commenting on Premier Sports’ deal for live matches, the channel’s director of operations Richard Webb said: “We are thrilled to be involved in the Cup and complement the existing television agreement with additional coverage.
“We congratulate the foresight of those tasked with making the new competition a reality and we believe the revised format will make for some very interesting fixtures with the added spice of cross border and SPFL U20 club participation.”
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive, said: “This is another exciting day for Scottish football with the announcement of this exciting new format of the Scottish Challenge Cup demonstrating further innovation and forward-thinking for the game in this country.
“The introduction of Ladbrokes Premiership u20 teams will give young players a taste of competitive football at senior level, while extending the number of Highland and Lowland League clubs taking part further strengthens the pyramid system and their place within Scottish professional football.
“We are also very pleased to be supported by UEFA in delivering an element of cross-border competition through the invitation to our colleagues in Northern Ireland and Wales which brings a completely new dimension to the Challenge Cup and the levels of excitement and interest in it.”
The Scottish Challenge Cup was established in 1990 to mark the Scottish Football League’s centenary and has been run every year since, with the exception of 1998/99, and in recent seasons it was known as the Petrofac Training Cup.
Draws under the competition’s new format will be regionalised throughout the competition and seeded from rounds 1-3 only, with fourth round matches taking place in October featuring 16 teams, followed by the quarter-finals (November), semi-finals (February) and the final in March.
