Sky Sports to show four live games across the opening weekend
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) has today published the 2024/25 fixture lists for the William Hill Premiership, William Hill Championship, William Hill League 1 and William Hill League 2.
William Hill Premiership fixtures 2024/25
William Hill Championship fixtures 2024/25
William Hill League 1 fixtures 2024/25
William Hill League 2 fixtures 2024/25
The forthcoming campaign, which kicks off on the first weekend in August, will be the 12th season of the SPFL and the first with William Hill as title sponsor.
A total of five games have been selected for live television coverage across the opening round, with Sky Sports showing four matches in the William Hill Premiership, starting with Heart of Midlothian v Rangers on Saturday August 3, kick-off 12.30pm.
Reigning champions Celtic begin the defence of their trophy against Kilmarnock on Sunday August 4 (Sky Sports, ko 4.30pm) after Dundee United’s top-flight return versus city rivals Dundee (Sky Sports, ko 1.30pm). Sky Sports will also have live coverage of St Johnstone v Aberdeen on Monday August 5, kick-off 8.00pm, to end a bumper weekend of action.
The first match of the 2024/25 league season will see Falkirk’s William Hill Championship opener against Queen’s Park broadcast live on the BBC Scotland channel on Friday August 2, kick-off 7.45pm.
From this season, Sky Sports have the rights to broadcast up to 60 matches exclusively live in the William Hill Premiership and today’s fixture publication includes their coverage of the derbies over the festive period – Heart of Midlothian v Hibernian on Boxing Day (12.30pm) followed on January 2 by Rangers v Celtic (3.00pm) and Dundee v Dundee United (5.30pm).
The recently-announced deal with Premier Sports allows them to broadcast 20 games live – their first selection is Dundee v Heart of Midlothian on Saturday August 10 at 5.30pm.
The change to the UEFA calendar in 2024/25 – with 10 matchdays set aside for the revamped league phase across the three European competitions – means there is no winter break in the William Hill Premiership.
The final fixtures in the top flight are scheduled for the weekend of May 17/18 while the William Hill Championship, William Hill League 1 and William Hill League 2 will conclude two weeks earlier on Friday May 2 (Championship) and Saturday May 3 (League 1 & 2).
SPFL group chief executive Neil Doncaster said: “The publication of the fixture list is always an eagerly-anticipated day in the calendar for clubs and fans alike and 2024/25 promises to be another hugely exciting season across all four divisions of the SPFL.
“Season 2023/24 saw record attendances, with more than five million supporters attending matches across all our competitions, again highlighting the huge interest in Scottish football.
“This coming season will also see more matches shown live on TV than ever before and I would like to thank Sky Sports and our other broadcast partners for helping to showcase the SPFL. I wish all 42 clubs the very best for season 2024/25 and hope supporters continue to enjoy the drama and passion that Scottish football is so renowned for.”
Gary Hughes, Director of Football at Sky Sports, said: “We’re delighted to bring fans an unprecedented four matches across the opening weekend to mark the start of our new SPFL deal. Our commitment to showcasing top-tier Scottish football continues, with up to 60 matches exclusively live in 2024/25. We look forward to an exciting season ahead.”
The fixture card for the opening weekend is as follows (kick-off 3.00pm unless stated):
William Hill Premiership – Saturday August 3
Heart of Midlothian v Rangers (Sky Sports, 12.30pm)
Motherwell v Ross County
William Hill Premiership – Sunday August 4
Dundee United v Dundee (Sky Sports, 1.30pm)
Celtic v Kilmarnock (Sky Sports, 4.30pm)
St Mirren v Hibernian
William Hill Premiership – Monday August 5
St Johnstone v Aberdeen (Sky Sports, 8.00pm)
William Hill Championship – Friday August 2
Falkirk v Queen’s Park (BBC Scotland, 7.45pm)
William Hill Championship – Saturday August 3
Airdrieonians v Raith Rovers
Hamilton Academical v Ayr United
Livingston v Dunfermline Athletic
Partick Thistle Greenock Morton
William Hill League 1 – Saturday August 3
Alloa Athletic v Queen of the South
Cove Rangers v Annan Athletic
Inverness Caledonian Thistle v Dumbarton
Montrose v Kelty Hearts
Stenhousemuir v Arbroath
William Hill League 2 – Saturday August 3
Bonnyrigg Rose v Peterhead
Edinburgh City v Stirling Albion
Elgin City v East Fife
Forfar Athletic v Clyde
Stranraer v The Spartans
Notes
- A number of William Hill Premiership matches will require to be moved to Sundays in due course because of clubs competing in UEFA competition matches on Thursdays. These include Kilmarnock v St Johnstone, which is likely to be rescheduled to Sunday August 11 pending confirmation of Kilmarnock’s UEFA competition fixture. Aberdeen v St Mirren may also move to August 11 depending on St Mirren’s progress.
- Queen’s Park v Livingston in the William Hill Championship on Saturday August 10 will be played at the City Stadium (Lesser Hampden).
- The SPFL remains in discussions with Rangers about their home fixtures in August given the ongoing stadium works at Ibrox.
- TV selections have today been published for the opening two rounds of the William Hill Premiership and Championship. Any BBC ALBA selections for William Hill League 1 will be confirmed as soon as possible.