BTCC PROVING A HIT ON ITV1
The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship can announce
a third straight increase in its ITV1 viewing figure following
its latest race meeting at Brands Hatch.
Last Sunday, a peak audience of 1.341 million people tuned
in to watch ITV1’s live hour-long BTCC show. By comparison,
that is some 400,000 more than watched the World Rally Championship
that immediately preceded it.
The latest figure means a consecutive increase in viewers
watching the BTCC on ITV1. Live coverage from the opening
round at Donington Park on 10 April drew 1.2 million and week-delayed
highlights of round two at Thruxton on 7 May attracted a 1.25
million audience. With 1.34 watching Brands Hatch, close to
four million viewers have now seen the first three rounds.
Brands Hatch was the second of seven BTCC race meetings to
receive live ITV1 coverage in 2005. The next race meeting,
from Oulton Park in Cheshire on 19 June will receive even
greater air time with the action being shown from 16.00-17.30.
The Donington, Thruxton and Brands programmes have also been
repeated in their entirety in evening mid-week slots on ITV1,
exposing the BTCC to a new, late-night audience. By the end
of the season, ITV1 will have dedicated 25 hours of coverage
to the ten BTCC race meetings.
BTCC Series Director Alan Gow says: “These are terrific
figures, particularly at a time when a lot of television programmes
struggle to hold a consistent audience. Our viewing figures
continue to climb, which proves the attraction of the BTCC
to millions of people around the country.
“The BTCC is now second only to Formula One in terms
of four-wheel motor sport popularity on television in the
UK. That is a tremendously strong selling point for teams
and drivers when negotiating with potential sponsors and underlines
the enormous appeal of our championship.
“The feedback we keep receiving is what compelling
viewing the BTCC makes on ITV1. Much of that is down to the
excellent production work by the team from ISN/Granada Sport
and ITV should be applauded for getting behind this great
British championship. Of course the action-packed racing we
continually deliver guarantees a great viewing experience
for the millions that tune in.”
In addition to being shown on ITV1, the BTCC is broadcast
across European by satellite channel Motors TV that has a
potential audience of 36 million subscribers. Motors TV shows
most BTCC race days live. In 2005 it will have dedicated more
than 70 hours of live coverage to the BTCC.
Highlights of each BTCC race meeting are also shown on television
outlets in North and South America, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Canada, China, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan,
Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
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