As the 2022/23 season of the Scottish Premiership draws to a close, it’s time to reflect on the broadcasting landscape of our beloved league. A topic of much debate among fans, the distribution of televised games has once again come under scrutiny.

Sky Sports, the sole broadcaster of the SPFL, aired a total of 41 games this season. Celtic FC, the reigning champions, were the most featured club, appearing 20 times on the broadcaster’s schedule. This was two more than The Rangers, who were shown 18 times. Hearts, Aberdeen, and Hibs followed, with 8, 6, and 6 appearances respectively.

It’s worth noting that Celtic were the only club to fully utilise their quota of 5 Premiership games for pay-per-view streaming on their own channel. This was an option available to all clubs when their matches weren’t scheduled for broadcast on Sky Sports.

However, the distribution of televised games has not been without controversy. A significant number of SPFL fans have voiced their concerns, feeling that Scottish football is often treated as a second-class citizen. Complaints range from poor punditry to the minimal time allocated to games.

One of the most contentious issues was Sky Sports’ decision to overlook the relegation battle in the final weeks of the season. Instead, the broadcaster chose to air matches from the top of the table, which had little bearing on the final standings. This decision has been met with widespread criticism, with fans arguing that it undermines the competitiveness and drama of the league.

In total, only 7 games not featuring either Celtic or The Rangers were broadcasted, accounting for 17.07% of the total games shown.

The table below provides a complete breakdown of the number of times each club was featured on Sky Sports:

Info collated by @pieandbov