Source: Team_Talk
Ritchie confident on broadcasting deal
The SPL pulled the plug on Setanta on Monday after the Irish-based company again failed to make a £3million payment for last season.
The troubled broadcaster was about to enter the final season of its £13.5million annual contract and had already asked to renegotiate the subsequent £125million four-year deal.
Sky, who initially failed in a bid for the contract from 2010, and Disney-owned ESPN, who have bought the Premier League rights vacated by Setanta, are rumoured to be interested although time is running out before the league resumes on August 15.
While the 12 SPL clubs wait to discover if their income will be affected, the Bairns unveiled a new management structure at the club.
Eddie May, the former Head of Football Academy, was paraded at the club's training base at Stirling University on Tuesday as the replacement for John Hughes who joined Hibernian at the end of the season.
Scotland coach Steven Pressley and veteran boss Alex Smith will be assistants to head coach May and a Head of Football Development will be appointed at a later date.
Ritchie does not envisage any financial problems in the near future.
He said: "I was encouraged by SPL executive chairman Lex Gold's comments that he believes that there will be a package in place for the start of the season.
"It is absolutely critical, I think that is well documented.
"For Falkirk, the money we get through the SPL and television is roughly 25 per cent of our total income so if we lost the whole lot, that would be a really serious problem.
"We just have to hope that the SPL can do the best deal possible.
"At the moment the budgets for this year assumes the expectation of the monies that the SPL would be providing next season.
"Providing what the new deal is, perhaps we would have to look at our budgets again but I'm hoping that we don't have to, we are hoping Lex Gold and his team can come up with the goods."
