text: Scottish football's relationship with television has become a form of Stockholm Syndrome. No one is tied up in a basement. There are no hostages. Yet the lengths to which the SPFL will go to show love to those broadcasters who hold a gun to their heads has become a source of growing, simmering public fury. The Scottish game is engaged in a Faustian pact. And the television piper is calling the tune. Sky and BT Sports pay £16million a year for live coverage of Scottish football. The BBC puts in an estimated £3m a year for Sportscene highlights and radio commentaries. Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths (right) completes his hat-trick during the win over Kilmarnock earlier this week . Compared with the £5billion paid to English clubs for Premiership football the sums are trifling. Borderline insulting. St Mirren facing Ross County on a wet March night in Paisley will never be a rival to the Manchester derby but broadcasters don't show Scottish football out of charity. They do so because it fills their schedules and meets a level of demand. In return for which they regard SPFL football with indifference. The BBC, a state public service broadcaster, charges the same flat rate licence tax to viewers in London and Manchester as it does to viewers in Glasgow and Inverness, with one key difference. English football is treated with reverence and respect. Scottish football like a pavement beggar. On Saturday, Hibernian and Falkirk fans will be asked to travel to Glasgow for a Scottish Cup semi-final which kicks off at 12.15pm Why? Because Sky Sports want the game out of the way to show a recorded documentary on Bob Paisley. On Sunday, Inverness fans must travel 200 miles for another 12.15pm kick-off against Celtic. Topping the bill in the afternoon is the European Cup rugby semi-final between Leinster and Toulon, a game likely to prompt complete indifference in public houses the length and breadth of Britain. It's not just the Scottish Cup. Celtic have played just four home league games at 3pm on a Saturday all season. And the decision to put back the Hearts v Rangers Championship clash 24 hours for the benefit of Sky caused an almighty row while resurrecting the dreaded 'sporting integrity' phrase. Hibernian are engaged in a battle with the Ibrox side for second place in the Championship. This matters because the team which finishes second has two fewer tense, troublesome play-off games to play. Were Rangers to go into their final game at Tynecastle needing only a point against Hearts — Hibernian's city rivals — the game would be played against an unparalleled backdrop of suspicion. To most — Leanne Dempster of Hibs and Hearts owner Ann Budge especially — the issue is one of fairness. It's clear cut. The games should always have kicked off at the same time and they believe the SPFL have been duplicitous and deceitful. Loathe to be seen criticising the SPFL, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan chose his words carefully, while all but admitting the league had made a complete and utter hash of things. Hamilton's Jason Scotland (right) challenges Dundee United's Calum Morris (left) during the SPL match . 'For 99 per cent of the time, there are no issues,' he said. 'Broadcasting in football has been operating for 20-30 years with big money coming into the game. Usually it's no problem at all. 'There are times — and we have one right now — where the broadcaster has a requirement to show a match at a particular time on a particular day and that causes issues. 'It's important for the league to consult with all of the interested parties, particularly the clubs who are the connecting point with the fans. 'Obviously, you can't please everybody but consultation is the secret. Neil Doncaster (SPFL chief) has been challenged by a number of different parties and I think it's important he listens and tries to come up with a pragmatic solution.' Minutes after Regan spoke, the SPFL's solution arrived in the shape of an embarrassing U-turn. As they should have been from the outset, the final-day Championship games were all rearranged for Saturday May 2. With a 12.15pm kick-off, naturally. And after some cap doffing and bowing to the Sky paymasters. Most accept Doncaster is the paid hand of the most influential clubs in Scotland, with little real executive authority. His job is to act as a human shield for clubs and to put lipstick on a pig of a broadcasting deal. Yet the decision to put the Rangers fixture back heightened suspicions over both his competence and motives. In May 2013, the final game in Division Three for the Ibrox club — against Berwick Rangers — was shown live on television. The other four fixtures were immediately brought forward, too. A statement on the Rangers website confirmed the decision had been taken 'in the interests of fairness'. What changed between May 2013 and now? To those who believe the SPFL are hellbent on getting Rangers back into the top tier come what may, this was manna from heaven. 'It's a challenging time for the SPFL right now,' said Regan with a degree of understatement. 'I can see why fans are unhappy. 'Ultimately there's always a balance between the needs of the broadcasters and the needs of the clubs, the needs of the supporters and sponsors. 'When you're looking at a Scottish football landscape, where money is tight and a broadcaster is the biggest provider of income, that can't be ignored. I'm not saying it's right but they have to be heard.' The problem comes when paying customers believe the broadcasters are the only people being heard. St Mirren's Stephen Mallan (centre) is challenged by Ross County's Jackson Irvine (right) Scottish fans from across the UK are now routinely asked, at the drop of a hat, to change travel plans to facilitate Friday-night football and noon kick-offs on a Saturday or Sunday. Monday night games have also crept onto the schedules. And for what? Scottish viewers make up around nine per cent of Sky and BT Sport' s subscribers. Yet it now costs them more to cover two games between West Brom and Stoke than it does to fund an entire season of Scottish football. The BBC, meanwhile, pays Gary Lineker as much to present Match of the Day as they do for SPFL highlights and radio coverage. 'It's fair to say that the landscape we are in right now is challenging,' added Regan. 'When you look at the numbers that the Premier League delivered in England it blows everything out of the water. 'The Scottish football authorities — the league in particular — are fighting for what you would call the scraps from the table. 'I know that there is pressure being put on the BBC through a number of parties right now, including the Scottish Government, to try to see if there is any way to make an improvement in income that can be generated by further discussions. 'But, ultimately, the broadcaster will only pay market rate for the product they are buying. 'We are trying to get that market rate back up by collectively working on initiatives to improve our game, but it's not going to happen overnight.' The empty stands are a problem. The spectacle in the SPFL is often poor and does nothing to persuade Sky that Scottish football is worth paying out more cash. In a vicious circle, however, this attitude drives the crowds lower and lower. Many now speak openly, then, of Scottish football going cold turkey. Of subscriber boycotts or ending the abusive relationship with broadcasters altogether and streaming SPFL games online on a pay-per-view basis. Or having no coverage at all. When old hands of the Scottish game such as Sir Bob Kelly, Jim McLean and Jim Farry warned of the creeping dangers of live television they were dismissed as dinosaurs. Right now, they look like visionaries. Celtic fans sing during the win over Kilmarnock, which sees them three points clear at the top of the SPL .
target: Scottish football coverage is at the mercy of Sky and BT's schedules .
  Yet, Scottish football is never afforded the same precedence as England's .
  The demand for Scottish football is nearing an all-time low .