Leeds United escape breaks six-year Championship record as Whites make second tier TV splash

Leeds’ encounter with Cardiff drew a peak audience of almost one million viewers on Sunday afternoon as the Whites returned to the second tier.

"The fixture between Leeds United and Cardiff City was also the most watched Championship fixture on Sky Sports, excluding Play-Offs, since 2017, with a peak audience of nearly a million viewers,” the EFL said in a statement released on Tuesday.

United’s second half fight-back, culminating in Crysencio Summerville’s late equaliser, was seen by hundreds of thousands on Sky Sports, in addition to several more around the world, as the Whites shattered regular season domestic broadcast records from the last five seasons.

That means no fixture during the Coronavirus pandemic, when supporters were prohibited from entering stadiums, drew in as large a peak audience as Leeds’ Championship opener on Sunday, August 6, according to Sky Sports’ viewing figures.

Across the division, there was an increase of 44.2 per cent in attendances compared to the opening weekend of 2022/23 with 317,272 supporters spectating across 12 fixtures.

This was in no small part aided by Sheffield Wednesday’s return to the second tier, with their 34,835-capacity stadium Hillsborough replacing recently promoted Luton Town’s 10,365-seater Kenilworth Road.

The 36,368 who witnessed Leeds’ comeback at Elland Road was the second-largest attendance throughout the division, surpassed only by Sunderland’s home defeat by Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light.

EFL Chief Executive, Trevor Birch said: “With over half a million supporters in stadiums across the country, a record number watching at home and goals flowing at games in every division, it really was a fantastic opening EFL weekend for all involved.

"Attendances last year were the highest in seven decades and the evidence from the opening weekend suggests the appetite for live football is only continuing to rise."