German private-TV channel RTL “recorded an average of 3.12 million viewers for its broadcast of the Australian F1 Grand Prix on Sunday morning,” according to Alexander Krei of DWDL. The number translated into a market share of 43.2%. RTL’s broadcast of the season-opening race, which started at 7:08am, was watched by 300,000 more viewers than in ’13. In the target demographic 14-49, the race, which was won by Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, obtained a market share of 41.9%. In addition, pay-TV operator Sky attracted 260,000 viewers to its coverage of the Australian GP. In the target demographic, Sky had a market share of 4.4%. In comparison, last year’s race had a market share of 3.2% in the target demographic.
BUNDESLIGA: Saturday’s Bundesliga game between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen was watched by 1.02 million viewers on Sky. The game, which started at 6:30pm, had a market share of 6.3% in the target demographic. The market share "was Sky's highest for a late afternoon game since the end of November." Ahead of Bayern’ 2-1 victory, Sky attracted 1.34 million viewers to its Bundesliga simulcast or one of its five individual game feeds. The broadcast, which started at 3:30pm, had a market share of 12.5% in the target demographic.
WINTER SPORTS: German public broadcaster ARD "received high ratings for its final winter sports broadcasts of the season over the weekend." On Saturday, the channel attracted 2.59 million viewers for its broadcast of the women’s biathlon sprint. The race had a market share of 23.5%. The Closing Ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Paralympics was watched by 1.7 million viewers and obtained a market share of 7.9% on Sunday afternoon (DWDL, 3/17).