The TV Review of the SPFL Season 2014/15

As the season’s embers die out preparing to be reborn like a Phoenix (or as a Phoenix, if you’re a Rangers fan) in about 3 weeks when European games start, it’s time to take a look back at what we watched this season and what we thought of it.

Of course, some people will be coming here just to see a headline figure and that’s all, so for those just wanting a data dump, here we go:

An average of 87,932 people watched each SPFL Premiership game this season, a decrease of 800.

An average of 196,143 watched each live SPFL Championship game this season, an increase of 59,000 compared to the League One games last season.

An average of 168,500 watched each Sky broadcast of the Scottish Cup, an increase of 72,000 on last season.

The top rated domestic games were:

1 - Celtic vs Rangers - approx 750,000 - League Cup Semi final (number not published by BBC but reported by Daily Record)

2 - Rangers vs Hearts - 327,000 - Opening day of the SPFL Championship

3 - Dundee United vs Celtic - 301,000 - Scottish Cup Quarter Final

4 - Rangers vs Hearts - 265,000 - SPFL championship (abandoned after 20 mins due to winter)

5 - Hibs vs Rangers - 239,000 - SPFL Championship 4-0

Most watched Clubs by average viewership

1 - Rangers

2 - Celtic

3 - Hearts

4 - Hibs

5 - Ross County





If you would like the full stats for every game for which figures were reported this season the spreadsheet is available at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cc5w-4H4X06Tu-AQ6_hg17ptplQzeloRJEIgxO1br0A/edit?usp=sharing

Now, I can already guess what many are thinking and it’s how great Rangers are, how can the top flight survive, etc, etc, WATP. That isn’t quite right. Last season, only one club had an average viewership over 150k. This season, 4 do. The reason Rangers top the pile is because Hearts and Hibs performed so well. The reason Celtic are second is because of the Europa League.

The reason the Championship got more viewers than the Premiership and that there are three Championship sides in the top 5 is because of what I like to call the House of Cards effect, named so because of why I stopped watching House of Cards. Your average House of Cards episode goes like this - Frank Underwood has a small loss or loss of face then he gets revenge by annihilating everyone who is his enemy. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fabulously acted but, after two seasons, not only does Frank not have a credible threat to him, the very perception of him being threatened and realistically “losing” a battle is fanciful. When you lose the very perception of threat, then why would anyone watch. The same is happening to Celtic and it happened to Rangers last season - the media have been at pains to suggest that even the merest hint of a threat to their dominance is idiocy and fans have reacted with their remotes.

When a league is properly built up, as the Championship was this season, people tune in and continue to do so. Getting people to watch a football game live is as much to do with compelling storytelling as it is competition and quality. We can rightly mock the EPL for its bombast and bullshit but every game has a storyline going into it. Scotland fails to do this and that is why games such as Celtic vs Aberdeen which was massive in terms of the title race disappointed - not only were they scheduled against big EPL games, but they were also given a horrible build up. If broadcasters promote the SPFL, they will get viewers - that’s why the best league rating of the season was on the weekend before the EPL started: Rangers vs Hearts was treated like the main event of the weekend because, that weekend, it was.

The fact is that the SPFL is an attractive commodity when it has space to breathe. The SPFL, along with every other sporting commodity in Sky/BTs portfolio, is not going to beat the EPL. That the SPFL’s ratings are growing in spite of the competition is positive and something to be applauded. But the point I have emphasised every season I’ve done this remains - the SPFL’s value will not increase by much as long as it is run directly against the EPL because it will never be able to reach the neutral fans it needs to reach to increase its viewership. People are prepared to watch the SPFL, and in large numbers, if they know it’s there and if it isn’t in the shadow of the EPL.

If we look at the coverage itself for a moment, BT provides a more interesting and frankly better standard of coverage than Sky. Sky’s broadcast line up hasn’t changed in nearly a decade and what was mediocre then is now also exceptionally stale and when watching Sky’s coverage of the SPFL, it is hard to avoid a feeling of the product being neglected. BT’s rotation and wider selection of pundits, along with the less formal presentation, makes the product look much better. Some grumbles can be had at the visual presentation which is a little less shiny than Sky and at the insistence on using Stephen Craigan but, even then, they are minor niggles about a product which is, on the gantry and on the punditry, far more engaging and insightful than the competition.

It will be very interesting to see how BT pull off the Champions League and Europa League but certain things should be made clear early on - it is for the benefit of Scottish football that Celtic be shown as part of the 30 free-to-air “Showcase” games BT Sport will have on. Celtic’s Champions League ratings have always performed decently and having the Champions League will provide a natural boost to BTs subscriber base, pushing their viewing figures up in the process particularly as BT is now the sole home of European football.

It would be a surprise, therefore, were ratings not to increase next season. The re-entry of Hearts into the Premiership adds value as they are, at this point, the second most consistent ratings gatherer behind Celtic in the league. Championship ratings are unlikely to decline much given that it will still be a competitive league and if the media do their job and actually promote the league correctly, pointing out Aberdeen as a legitimate threat, those who don’t watch because they don’t perceive Celtic as having a threat will trickle back.

There are, therefore, few negatives to take on to next year. TV companies will still do some dumb scheduling. Sky will churn out the same product they have for a decade. But more people will be paying attention - with or without Rangers.

And more eyes on the product ultimately means more money in the game. And that will grab the attention of owners everywhere.