Celtic have played their part in an important announcement released earlier today regarding the viewing figures of the Scottish Premiership in 2023/24.
The Bhoys successfully fought out a battle for the top prize with Rangers, claiming three league victories and one draw at Ibrox under difficult circumstances, preventing their rivals from claiming any wins of their own.
Aside from that, Celtic were regularly featured on Sky Sports away from home this campaign, with climactic matches such as their late triumphs at Hibernian and Motherwell earlier this year given central billing.
From 2024/25, Sky reserve the right to show 60 league matches; meanwhile, as of yesterday, Premier Sports have earned the chance to show 20 live matches, in a watershed moment for Scottish football coverage.
Nevertheless, taking a look back at the season just passed, there is some exciting news that Celtic had a significant role bringing to light.
SPFL announce impressive Sky Sports viewing figures
Per the SPFL official website, the Scottish Premiership saw its TV viewing figures from live games broadcast by Sky Sports rise by 24% compared to the previous season.
This equates to nearly an extra 2.5 million tuning in, as the top flight has gone from having a ‘total culminative audience’ of 10.03 million to 12.5 million, factoring in the whole calendar of live matches.
The average number of TV spectators grew from 228,000 to 285,000, something SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster has attributed to the Scottish game having a growing level of appeal.
He stated: “It’s great news to see such strong growth in viewing figures for SPFL matches on Sky Sports this season. These fantastic viewing figures further demonstrate how compelling our national game is with supporters, as well as the significant interest in our game across Scotland and the UK.”
“Sky Sports have been an excellent broadcaster partner for the SPFL over many seasons, and we look forward to continuing to build on our great working relationship in season 2024/25.”
Undoubtedly, Celtic have been at the heart of this outcome, with high-profile matches against Rangers and the return of Brendan Rodgers contributing to the storyline heavily.
For now, the wider Scottish footballing public has turned their attention to the national team; nevertheless, at 67 Hail Hail, all club-centric matters will be brought to you as the summer progresses.