BBC in ‘live talks’ to show Scotland football matches

Green MSP Gillian Mackay said news of the talks would “be welcomed by football fans all over Scotland, who want to back our team but are being priced out of it”.

Ms Mackay added: “Sport should be for everyone, and I want as many young people as possible to be able to grow up watching their heroes in action.

“That can help us to ensure that our next generation of footballers can feel inspired and dream of playing for their country.”

Meanwhile, Louise Thornton, BBC Scotland’s head of multi-platform commissioning, defended the performance of the BBC Scotland channel to MPs amid concerns over falling viewer numbers.

She said there had been a decline in “linear” viewing – people watching programmes as they are broadcast – but stressed the importance of the BBC’s iPlayer platform, which allows people to view programmes at a time of their choosing.

She told MPs: “The prominence of Scottish content on iPlayer has improved massively, and we are getting more programmes on the front of iPlayer than ever.

“Although the linear decline we are seeing is a concern, it is just a reality.

“For me the growth in iPlayer is offsetting that, particularly for Scottish content.”

Ms Thornton added: “iPlayer is absolutely the future of where audiences are going, so we need to keep our eyes on the growth there.”