One million plus watch Rangers-Celtic thriller

More than 1.1 million viewers tuned into Sunday’s thrilling 2-2 draw between Rangers and Celtic on Sky Sports as Scotland’s top-flight title race continues to ramp up.

The figures for the derby match are the highest for a Scottish league match in nearly two seasons and includes audience numbers for those watching across Sky’s platforms.

Viewership peaked at 1.15 million and comes after a strong peak audience of 674,000 tuned in to see Rangers defeat current league leaders Hearts 4-2 on February 15 – the highest for a fixture between the two clubs in recent seasons on the broadcaster.

The impressive audience numbers come as Heart of Midlothian sit five points clear at the top of the table on 63 points as the William Hill Premiership gets set for one of the most dramatic top flight finishes in many years. 

The Tynecastle side are followed by Celtic on 58 points, whose 2-1 win over Aberdeen was shown live on Sky Sports last night. Rangers sit third on 57 points, followed by Motherwell on 53 points, with Jens Berthel Askou’s men having a game in hand against Dundee this Saturday.

Sky Sports will show a number of upcoming matches across the coming weeks. Earlier this week it was announced Livingston v Heart of Midlothian will be shown live at 2.00pm on Sunday April 5, followed by Dundee v Celtic at 4.30pm on the same date and Falkirk v Rangers will be shown live at 12 noon on Sunday April 12.

Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive, said: "It promises to be one of the most dramatic conclusions to a William Hill Premiership in many years, and it’s great to see such strong viewing figures for recent matches on Sky Sports.

"These numbers reinforce the incredible interest building around the title race and the appetite among supporters to follow every twist and turn as the season reaches its climax.

"With so much still to play for across the division, supporters can look forward to a thrilling run-in, and it’s great that fans will be able to follow the action live on Sky Sports in the weeks ahead."

Gary Hughes, Sky Sports Director of Football, said: "The SPFL title race is one of the great stories of the football season. The league has already produced plenty of drama on and off the pitch and it’s brilliant to see so many fans tuning in. With so much still to play for, Sky Sports is excited to bring unrivalled coverage of the biggest matches, providing expert analysis of all the twists and turns during the run-in."