ESPN+ has acquired the U.S. media rights in English and Spanish to the Scottish Premiership, it was announced Friday.
As part of the agreement, the direct-to-consumer sports streaming service will carry at least one Scottish Premiership match per week, beginning Saturday. It also will have coverage of select matches from the Scottish Championship, Betfred Cup (Scottish League Cup) and Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Cup (Scottish Challenge Cup).
Scottish Premiership coverage will kick off with Celtic F.C. hosting rivals Rangers F.C. at 7:30 a.m. ET, in the Old Firm Derby live from Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland.
“The Scottish Premiership on ESPN+ will offer fans tradition, intensity, rivalries and some of the most passionately supported clubs in the world – and will add further to the most comprehensive lineup of soccer available in the U.S.,” Russell Wolff, executive vice president and general manager, ESPN+ Russell Wolff said in a statement.
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.
Rangers have a slight lead in the matchup with 162 wins. Celtic has 159 victories, and there has been 99 ties in 420 competitive matches between the rivals.
ESPN+ is home to the most comprehensive collection of live soccer available on one platform in the United States, offering over 2000 matches per year from Bundesliga, Serie A, the English FA Cup and Carabao Cup, Spanish Copa Del Rey, Scottish Premiership, Dutch Eredivisie, Major League Soccer, EFL Championship, USL and more.
