Austrian free-to-air TV channel ServusTV "recorded solid ratings with its broadcast of game four of the German Hockey League (DEL) finals on Sunday afternoon," according to Manuel Weis of QUOTENMETER. A total of 180,000 viewers tuned in to watch the Eisbären Berlin win its third consecutive championship. The game, which started at 2:15pm German time, received a 1.2% market share. In the target demographic 14-49, ServusTV obtained a 1.9% share for its broadcast of Berlin's 4-1 victory against Cologne to clinch the best-of-five series, 3-1. German sports network Sport1, which also aired hockey, "could not compete with ServusTV." The Euro Hockey Challenge matchup between Germany and Sweden received a 0.6% market share. In the target demographic, Germany's 5-2 victory attracted 40,000 viewers, which equaled a 0.7% share (QUOTENMETER, 4/22).
MOTORSPORTS: The DPA reported German free-to-air TV channel RTL "received top ratings for its broadcast of the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix" on Sunday afternoon. A total 6.04 million viewers tuned in to watch defending world champion Sebastian Vettel win in the Gulf kingdom. The race, which started at 2pm German time, obtained a 39.4% market share (DPA, 4/22). ISPORTCONNECT's Jay Stuart reported coverage of MotoGP on Telecinco "scored the best ratings in primetime in Spain on Sunday, but Formula 1 on Antena 3 in the afternoon drew the day’s biggest audience." Spaniard Marc Marquez’s victory in the GP of the Americas motorcycling race in Austin, Texas averaged 4.062 million viewers and a share of 23.7%. The Bahrain F1 GP averaged 4.907 million and a share of 38.4%. In Italy, Italia 1’s live coverage of the MotoGP in primetime averaged 3.420 million and a share of 11.22%, better than the delayed broadcast of the F1 race on RAI2 with 2.469 million and a share of 6.31%. The live F1 race in the afternoon was on Sky Italia (ISPORTCONNECT, 4/22).
A-LEAGUE FINAL: In Sydney, Adno & Davutovic reported "the most successful season in A-League history was capped off with a record TV audience for Sunday's grand final." Some 297,000 people "tuned in to watch Western Sydney and Central Coast, while 42,102 people attended the match at Allianz Stadium." The '12-13 season broke all sorts of records: It was the "highest-rating A-League season with an average audience of 81,000." The previous best was 70,000 in '07-08; average audiences were up 23% from last season; games were watched by more than 2.8 million viewers; it had the highest-rating regular-season game ever -- the 164,000 who watched the round-two clash between Sydney FC and Newcastle; it had the three highest-rating rounds in A-League history -- 109,000 (rd 1), 105,000 (rd 2) and 103,000 (rd 5) (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 4/23).
