It's been one of this SPFL season's talking points - but now there is a fresh comparison to be made after the EFL's landmark TV announcement.
Clubs in the Championship, League One and Two down south have "unanimously approved a record domestic rights deal with broadcaster Sky Sports worth £935m over a five-year period with over 1,000 matches to be broadcast each season – a record number of games for any club football agreement." It will run from season 2024/25 to season 2028/29, made up of guaranteed payments of £895m and £40m in marketing benefits.
It means a huge £187m per season is be divided between clubs but it comes with fresh scrutiny north of the border. Sky are the exclusive broadcaster of the Scottish Premiership and SWPL, with the deal signed in 2022 bringing much criticism. Compared to the EFL, there will be 60 games per season in the SPFL over the rest of their deal, which is in place at the same start and end season date as the English lower leagues.
But Sky Sports have failed to show their full allocation of Scottish games during the last two seasons. The deal signed until 2029 is claimed to be worth in the region of £150m, a fair way off the £935m EFL total.
As part of an agreement worth nearly £1b though, 1,059 matches are set to be broadcast exclusively across existing Sky Sports channels or live via a Sky Sports streaming destination available on TV and mobile devices. Crucially, one aspect both deals shares is that the 3pm blackout remains in place. Clubs in Scotland can't broadcast between 2.45pm and 5.15pm on Saturday afternoons, but are allowed to sell a certain amount of PPV per term outside this.
Chief Executive of the EFL, Trevor Birch said: “After completing an extensive tender and negotiation process, this is a landmark broadcast deal for EFL clubs, establishing the League as a premium partner with a world-renowned broadcaster in Sky Sports.
“The EFL is an iconic sports property and one of the biggest and best attended Leagues in European football. This increased investment and coverage from Sky Sports will showcase much more of our compelling match action to fans, while delivering record rights values as we seek to make our clubs sustainable at all levels."
