 |
Press Releases & Press Packs
|
Upturn
in Six Nations television audiences
The
first year with the entire RBS Six Nations Championship on BBC television
has seen average audiences per match increase by 63% (1.2 million
per game) on last year.
The
average audiences for BBC matches are up by 40%, which is a 0.9
million increase on last year (i.e excluding matches shown by Sky
in 2002).
This
represents a reversal in the decline of television audiences to
the Championship, which had seen audiences fall by 40% between 1999
and 2002.
This
year on the BBC, 12 out of the 15 games attracted peak audiences
of more than three million, compared with only three of the 15 matches
last year. All figures are based on live overnight data supplied
to all broadcasters by BARB.
More
than half of all people watching television across the UK (51% share)
watched the Ireland v England Grand Slam decider on Sunday, which
achieved a peak viewing figure of 5.6 million.
The
average audience was five million. The share was higher than England's
previous three Grand Slam matches against Ireland in 2001
(41% of all people watching TV at that time), Scotland in 2000 (43%)
and against Wales in 1999 (28%).
The
highest rating game of the Championship was Wales v England with
a 5.30pm Saturday kick-off, which had an average audience of 6.3
million and a peak of 6.7 million.
This
would have put it in the Top Ten non-football sporting events of
2002 in terms of audience.
Director of BBC Sport, Peter Salmon, said: "When we won the
contract back, we promised to try and stop the decline in audiences
and help grow the tournament by attracting more people to the game.
"I'm
delighted that we have made a strong start. We have worked closely
with the Six Nations on scheduling the tournament and these figures
vindicate the success of that approach."
Notes
to Editors
Fans
get even more rugby on BBC Interactive offering (28.03.03)
Rugby
reporter Jill Douglas returns to BBC (27.03.03)
BBC
coverage of the RBS Six Nations Championship (12.02.03)
New
"crowd-cam" from BBC Outside Broadcasts debuts at BBC
Sport coverage of Six Nations Rugby (05.02.03)
All the
BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable.
Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, interactive services
from BBCi, as well as 11 BBC radio networks.
| 
