New Rangers deal could lead to megabucks
James Bisgrove was a big part of this.
When Arsenal went to Vietnam in 2013 and engaged the famous ‘Arsenal bus runner’ incident, it highlighted what a stellar job the Gunners and indeed English football had done in cultivating the vast plunder on offer in Asia and particularly the ‘oriental’ nations like aforementioned Vietman, China, Indonesia et al.
Rangers confirming earlier this week that they had secured an exclusive rights holder deal to hold SPFL broadcasts in India is exactly the right direction to build up a colossal portfolio in a nation with a population of 1.3B (apparently we forgot the B in a previous article) and with swathes of new fans and big cash ready to spend on our club.
It’s not the value Star Sports of India have paid Rangers, although that’s undisclosed but likely to only be a healthy six-figure sum, it’s the doors it opens.
Millions upon millions of new fans could literally be at Rangers’ fingertips, and while we don’t deny India has significant issues with poverty and the distribution of wealth, there’s enough of it to make the country a fertile land for Rangers to exploit.
Make no mistake, this opens big gates – Star Sports is one of if not the biggest sports broadcaster in India and the reach this will have could be a truly outstanding source of growth and revenue.
The truth is this is a hell of a coup for Rangers, to secure exclusive SPFL rights in the second most populous country on earth.
The rewards for this won’t be immediate, but over years – and a stable and reliable new source of income is never unwelcome.
It’s almost an incalculable level of opportunity Rangers now have access to here, and we have to applaud the suits for securing this.
As Brand Finance confirmed with their research, Indian football fans are more aware of PL clubs than any other global league – and a deal like this for Rangers could well elevate our club to something like the same prominence in the minds of the same fans.
Game on!