Scottish Championship on TV and Stream

Historical Background

The Scottish Championship formed just six years ago, in 2013, when the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League merged. This merger also created the country's top-tier men's professional club tournament known as the Scottish Professional Football League.

The parent championships which created what is known today as the Scottish Championship go back over a century. The Scottish Football League, for example, held its first game in the 19th century, precisely in 1893. On the other hand, the Scottish Premier League was only founded in 1998 and therefore only existed for 15 years.

Since its founding in 2013, the Scottish Championship has been organised every year. Due to the interest in the best of Scottish football, several notable broadcasters have acquired the rights to provide this live sport on tv. These broadcasters include Sky Sports and BT Sports, amongst others.

League Format, Promotion, and Relegation

10 teams participate in the Scottish Championship every season, with promotion and relegation awaiting the best and worst performers. Each team plays against every other team in the league and the one with the most points is crowned the winner at the end of the season.

As with other major football competitions, the Scottish Championship awards three points whenever a team wins a match and one point to teams which end in a draw. No points are awarded to losing teams. When choosing the winner, teams are first ranked by points, then by goal difference and finally by goals scored. If multiple teams have equal results, then a playoff is organised in an independent venue to decide the winner.

The winners of the competition are automatically promoted to the Scottish Premiership. Clubs who come in 2nd, 3rd and 4th place enter a playoff to decide which club could also be promoted. However, the winner between these runners-up is then challenged by the club ranking 11th in the Premiership and must beat it to be promoted.

A similar system exists with regard to relegation. The club which places 10th automatically gets relegated to the Scottish League One. On the other hand, the club which finishes in 9th place is challenged by League One's runners-up in a playoff, with the winner joining the Scottish Championship the following season.

Teams

The teams which participate in the Scottish Championship vary every season. Since the competition is still in its youth, only a handful of the country's teams have had the opportunity to take part as yet. Dundee was the first team to lift the championship trophy in 2013, and, as yet, no team has successfully won the competition more than once.

Whilst it is still too early to determine the best teams within the Championship, a few have proven themselves to be superior to the average. In fact, when teams such as Hibernian play they tend to attract a greater number of viewers who watch live sport on tv. Hibernian won the competition in the 2016-2017 season after coming second in the 2014-2015 edition.

Falkirk is another team which is gaining popularity. Although The Bairns, as they are sometimes called, have yet to win this competition, they have placed 2nd in the 3rd and 4th edition of the Scottish Championship. 

Stadiums, Notable Records and Stats

The stadiums where games are played are determined by the participating clubs in each specific season. The size and capacity of the stadiums are considerably smaller when compared to the ones in Scotland's neighbours, however, fans who cannot get to the stand can watch the Scottish Championship on tv.

Tannadice Park, which is home to Dundee United, is one of the largest stadiums, with a capacity of 14,223. Greenock Morton's Cappielow Park is also one of the larger stadiums, with 11,589 seats. This makes it only slightly larger than Dunfermline Athletic's East End Park which can host 11,480 fans.

Fans of Heart of Midlothian are sure to remember the team's biggest win in the Scottish Championship. Winning 10-0 over Cowdenbeath, it was a very special day in Scottish football. This same team also holds the record for most points in a season, with 91, and most goals scored in a season, at 96.

The largest stadium audience was registered during a Rangers vs Alloa Athletic match, with 50,349 in the stadium and thousands more watching football tv. On the other hand, the lowest Championship turnout took place in the 2014 match between Cowdenbeath and Greenock Morton. Perhaps embarrassingly for the teams, only 318 fans showed up for the game.

Players and Top Scorers

Stephen Dobbie holds the Championship's record for most overall goals, with 58. The home-grown player only entered the competition in 2016, playing for Queen of the South, so this record is set to increase in the years to come. 

Jason Cummings's 55 goals are also impressive, positioning him in place. The Hibernian player hasn't played in the Scottish Championship since 2017, so it is likely that another player will take his place in the near future. This fate could be shared with Derek Lyle, who with 51 goals is currently ranked in third place.

Although John Baird has also scored an enviable number of goals, with 48 scored to date, he is better known for playing with a considerable number of clubs. The Scottish footballer first played with the Raith Rovers in 2014, then moved to the Queen of the South that same year, Falkirk in 2015, Inverness CT in 2017 and finally Greenock Morton in 2018.

With a rise in popularity of the Scottish Championship and its clubs and players, a growing number of fans are tuning in every week to catch some exciting Scottish football. Through a selection of premium and free services, you can catch a variety of live football on tv today, to stay up to date with the latest fixtures and results.