German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF "obtained high market shares for their broadcasts of the first three Four Hills Tournament events," according to Alexander Krei of DWDL. The market shares of the first three competitions were around 25% and therefore higher than the shares from two years ago. However, the record numbers of last year's Four Hills ski jumping competition, when two of the four events attracted more than 6 million viewers, "were out of reach." Monday's final event in Bischofshofen, Austria attracted 6.57 million viewers last year. Due to the "rather disappointing" performances of the German ski jumpers, this number "seems unattainable" (DWDL, 1/6).
WINTER SPORTS: DWDL's Krei also reported ARD "received top ratings for its other winter sports broadcasts over the weekend." On Sunday afternoon, the women's biathlon race attracted 4.8 million viewers and had a 25.1% market share. The men's luge event was watched by almost 2 million viewers and obtained a 17.4% market share on Sunday morning. The competition's second run attracted 3.02 million viewers. The luge team competition later during the day attracted 2.71 million viewers (DWDL, 1/6).
