Scotland's Belgrade blockbuster blew the roof off Sky Sports’ viewing figures as euphoric fans celebrated the moment Steve Clarke’s heroes finally ended the nation’s wait for a major finals.
The do-or-die play-off with Serbia peaked at over 2.6million viewers making it the broadcaster’s most watched qualifier of the entire campaign ahead of England and the rest of the home nations.
With the Tartan Army grounded due to covid rules an average of 1.48million tuned in to Thursday’s do-or-die clash with Serbia.
And as the showdown reached it’s dramatic penalty shoot-out conclusion that figure swelled to an incredible 2.6million at 10.20pm.
To put that figure - half the entire Scottish population - in context Northern Ireland’s loss against Slovakia on the same evening delivered a peak of 563,000 making it the second most-watched programme in the country in that time slot.
And the highest ever audience for an SPFL clash - last December’s Old Firm at Parkhead - attracted 1.4million.
The beefed-up figures come after Sky broadcast the match in Belgrade for fans to enjoy free-to-air.
That 2.6m peak audience helped to deliver a remarkable 63 per cent audience share in Scotland, making it the most watched programme during that time slot in the country as the nation celebrated David Marshall ’s heroics in the penalty shootout to help guide Scotland to their first major men’s finals tournament appearance since the 1998 World Cup.
Sky UK and Europe CEO Stephen Van Rooyen commented: “This was a night of unforgettable memories for Scottish football fans – and we are delighted to have shared the game with a large audience.
“Making the Scotland and Northern Ireland matches free to air was the right thing to do.
"We are proud to support football and football fans in these unprecedented, challenging times.”
