Hibs v Hearts rescheduled in Saturday night live TV first for Edinburgh derby

The SWPL Edinburgh derby has been moved back to a Saturday night later this month and will be played in front of the Sky Sports cameras for the first time ever.

The fixture, to be played at Easter Road on April 22, will also be the second-ever SWPL game to be shown live on Sky after the broadcaster signed a historic deal late last year.

The Capital clash, originally scheduled for Sunday, April 16, will be the third Edinburgh derby this season after the first two ended 1-1. In November, the match broke the league’s attendance record as 8,066 fans turned up at Easter Road. In the reverse game at Tynecastle, there was also a record crowd as 7,024 spectators made it the stadium’s most-watched women’s game ever.

As well as the Edinburgh derby, the BBC have also announced which games they plan to show live on BBC Scotland and Alba in the final round of broadcast matches in SWPL1. All the games selected are in the top six.

Jenna Penman runs past Liana Hinds at Easter Road last November. Credit: Malcolm Mackenzie

Hibs will be shown three more times. That includes their away game to Celtic on April 30, which will be live on BBC Scotland. Their home fixtures against Rangers and Celtic on May 7 (1pm to be confirmed) and May 14 (1.10pm) will be live on BBC Scotland and BBC Alba respectively.

Hearts are set to be the BBC two more times. The club’s away game against Rangers on April 30 will be live on BBC Alba with a 4.10pm kick-off. Their away trip to Glasgow City on May 7 will be live on the same channel at 4.10pm.

The fourth Edinburgh derby of the season is a notable absentee from the broadcast list. Hearts are scheduled to host their rivals on Sunday, May 10, but this game is not on the list to be broadcast live by BBC or Sky.

Fiona McIntyre, the SWPL managing director, said: “We are delighted to deliver a record number of live games on television this season, courtesy of our three broadcast partners and we look forward to continuing our work with them as the season comes to an exciting finale.”