SNP MP 'pleased' after holding 'positive' talks with broadcasters over making Scotland games free-to-air

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An SNP MP has said he is "pleased" after holding "positive" talks with major broadcasters in a bid to make Scotland games free-to-air.Paisley and Renfrewshire North MP Gavin Newlands hosted a roundtable discussion with BBC Scotland and Alba, Sky, STV, Channel 4, Viaplay and the Scottish Football Association (SFA) on Thursday.Newlands said there was a collective commitment "to making sure Scottish football fans can have the maximum level of access to their men’s national team on TV".He said he had come away "with a number of options" and that he will take these to the UK Government.

Newlands has been campaigning for some time to make Scotland’s international football matches free to watch in the same way England and Wales games are.

He said: “Firstly, I want to sincerely thank the broadcasters and stakeholders who attended today for their engagement and commitment to my roundtable.

They had no obligation to come along but they did and they should all be applauded for that.“Collectively there is a commitment to making sure Scottish football fans can have the maximum level of access to their men’s national team on TV – I am pleased to have come out of today’s discussion with a number of options to pursue that works for everyone.“As England fans can watch their games on Channel 4 and Wales on S4C it is possible that Scotland games can be given similar treatment."Unlike England and Wales, Scotland matches are shown on streaming service Viaplay.Newlands added that he will now go to the UK Government and will "carry on pushing" until Scotland fans "can watch their team without being hit in the pocket.”He said: “As broadcasting is reserved I would now want to take today’s discussions to the UK government and encourage them to