It'll be very close:

IF 90 minute intro was watched by an average of 200k then:

(90 mins @ 200k) + (150 mins @ 7.30pm to 10pm rating) = 240 mins @ 475k

Gives a Celtic rating for 7.30pm to 10pm of 640k.

Obviously we don't know the rating for the 90 minute intro but the above would be my best guess - so you can see it's going to be very close - the above would give Celtic 640k vs Man Utd 662k.

Good choice by ITV to pick Celtic v Barcelona over Arsenal v Napoli or Steaua Bucharest v Chelsea.

Ratings are important, but maybe ITV want to cover a game in a stadium that has an atmosphere and passion, unlike the Emirates, and Parkhead on a Champions League night is the best in the world, and has been said so last season by the likes of Lionel Messi, Andrea Pirlo, even ex-Rangers men like Graham Souness and Ray Wilkins.

And you never know, there may well be a repeat of last season, and Celtic provide a shock result and prove that just because the rest of Scottish football is poor, Celtic are not a pub team as some say and can be, and are competitive in Europe.

They got out a group last year that no one said they could and done better than English Champions Man City and European Champions Chelsea, who really should have got out their group, let's be honest.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems that there is a lot of wishful thinking by bitter English fans for Celtic not to do well, just so the English teams look better than what they actually are, as proved last season when Celtic done better than City and Chelsea and got knocked out at the same stage as Man U and Arsenal.

Sorry if i've had a bit of a rant, but I feel it needed to be said.
I'm just glad Celtic got picked by ITV over Chelsea and Arsenal, for once.

Only a slight exaggeration to say that there are more Barca fans in the UK than Chelsea fans perhaps!

I suppose STV will be pleased as they can do their own coverage of the game?

The millitary choice of Chelsea or Arsenal getting picked over Celtic by ITV (and even after Chelsea and Arsenal had already qualified (and due to face Grasshoppers Zurich or Spartak Moscow at Stamford Bridge or the Emirates) and Celtic not yet but stll had a chance to qualify and facing Bayern Munich or Juventus) as was usually the case for many years was truly disgraceful.

At least for once things appear to be changing for the better. For now anyway.

But you are forgetting one point, Celtic are Scottish and they should show English teams. Which is why STV, Wales and UTV should have their own contracts.

But they don't. they have the same one, so in that case ITV SHOULD show Celtic.

STV a few years ago did have there own deal where they showed both Celtic and Rangers, but i'm not quite sure why it ended. Don't know if it was down to STV, ITV or just Sky wanting them exclusively.

ITV (network) used to negotiated a "Scottish opt-out".

They didn't do that for the last and current deals. So it's only right that any Scottish teams should be shown by ITV at least once.

Fair do's, yes I think its something to do with Sky. In the past, they could opt out and show Celtic matches. Even you had regions chosing matches with London picking Arsenal.

The neutral couldn't care less how Chelsea or Arsenal (if already through) are shaping up for knock out stages.

When was that? First i've heard of that one.
I only remember a few years ago when ITV had 2 matches the same night, 1 was on ITV1, the other ITV2, later ITV4 when that launched around 2005.

Until about 2002 individual regions were opting out and showing different matches.

Thanks, So basically up until the time freeview launched, then?

Wasn't there a situation a few years ago, when ITV still had the rights to two games, where Celtic or Rangers had an early kick-off live on STV, with STV then having to simulcast the ITV4 game because otherwise they, technically, would have been showing three games.

There was also the ITN News Channel had rights to the Champions League for a time in the early 2000's.

I remember watching Champions League football on the ITN News Channel on Telewest while the Sky viewers went all ballistic because they never got to see the football on there even though they had the news channel as well.

And guess what Sky is doing on the Wednesday of MD1?

Trebleheader means CL on SS1(!) Soccer Special ditched off SS1 and becomes SSN only.

SS1 - Chelsea v Basel
SS2 - Milan v Celtic
SS4 - Marseille v Arsenal

(SS3 - World Cup of Pool)

Good for BT viewers and VM HD viewers.

Tuesday is Man C (SS2), Real Madrid (SS4) as expected.

Why's the Arsenal game on SS4?!

Don't ask me - not my decision!

I think the whole thing is quite a surprise though - in the past they would have put the 3 games on SS2/3/4 to deny any "extra" content to BT and VM HD viewers.

will Sky use Jamie C for the champions league...

Cheeky buggers this Sky mob are.

SS1 or SS2 is not available via aerial or DTT now so that probably why the champions league matches that were on SS3 last year are back on SS1 now.

I thought when SS1 and SS2 were on Top Up TV that Sky were not supposed to put 2 of the 3 champions league matches on SS3 and SS4 just to deny viewers on another platform coverage of a match. Suddenly now they are back showing Champons League live on SS1 this season.

TopUp TV viewers should have been able to choose between 2 champions league matches in an evening, not just have the one live match to watch on one channel with studio discussion on the other channel.

I remember that. They also were putting matches on Granada Plus and Carlton Select. The good old days.

Sky MD2 - main games are Arsenal and Man City:

Tue:
SS2 - Arsenal v Napoli
SS4 - Steaua v Chelsea

Wed:
SS2 - Man City v Bayern Munich
SS4 - Shakhtar v Man Utd

Is that next Tuesday?

This was in 2002/03, the last season ITV had the Champions League rights exclusively. In the previous season they'd shown matches on the ITV Sport Channel but after that closed they didn't have enough channels, so they showed matches on Tuesday on ITV1 and ITV2 and on Wednesday on ITV2 and ITV News. However on the last Wednesday of the second group stage they showed Newcastle on Granada Plus rather than ITV News as the Gulf War started that day, while the day before they showed a dead rubber Man U match on ITV1.

The problem with ITV News you mention involved the first three weeks of the group stage in 2002, when ITV News was still the ITN channel. It couldn't be shown on satellite because it wasn't encrypted enough so could be picked up in mainland Europe and couldn't be shown on terrestrial because ITN was only broadcast in the mornings. So it was only on cable. The matches that affected were Dynamo Kiev vs Newcastle, PSV vs Arsenal (which ended 4-0 to Arsenal) and Liverpool vs Spartak. Before matchday four, however, ITN became the ITV News Channel, became encrypted on Sky and extended its hours on the newly launched Freeview so it could be seen on all platforms.

The following season was the first season Sky had half. Up until 2001, of course, ITV and ITV Sport weren't on Sky (ITV Sport never was) so within two years Sky viewers went from seeing none of it to being the only people who could see all of it.

No as it's internationals next midweek (plus that's MD2 he's referring to, not MD1)