German public broadcaster ARD "recorded close to 12 million viewers for its broadcast of the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) final on Saturday evening," according to Manuel Nunez Sanchez of QUOTENMETER. The matchup between Borussia Dortmund and VfL Wolfsburg attracted an average of 11.97 million viewers starting at 8pm. The number translated into a market share of 40.7%. In the target demographic 14-49, Wolfsburg's 3-1 victory obtained a 39% share as 3.9 million viewers. ARD's pregame coverage, which started at 7:10pm, drew 2.83 million viewers and had a 13.4% market share. In the target demo, the pregame program was watched by 860,000 viewers and obtained 12.9% share. Last year's DFB-Pokal final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich drew 14.27 million viewers (QUOTENMETER, 5/31).
FA CUP: DIGITAL SPY's Ben Lee reported BBC One's coverage of this year's FA Cup final "attracted nearly 7.5 million viewers" on Saturday, according to overnight figures. Arsenal's 4-0 triumph over Aston Villa averaged 7.47 million viewers (43.8%) from 5:15pm (DIGITAL SPY, 5/31).
RELEGATION GAMES: QUOTENMETER's Manuel Weis reported close to 10 million viewers tuned in to watch the first leg of this year's Bundesliga relegation between Hamburg and Karlsruhe on ARD. The game, which started at 8:30pm on Thursday, drew an average of 9.32 million viewers. The number translated into a market share of 30.1%. In the target demo, the 1-1 tie obtained a 27.8% share (QUOTENMETER, 5/29). QUOTENMETER's Daniel Sallhoff wrote the 2nd Bundesliga relegation matchup between 1860 Munich and Holstein Kiel drew high ratings on regional public broadcasters NRD and BR. The game's first half drew 990,000 viewers on NRD on Friday. The number equaled a 3.4% share. The second half including post-game coverage obtained a 4.1% share as 1.17 million viewers tuned in. BR recorded 840,000 viewers and drew a 3% market share for its broadcast of the game (QUOTENMETER, 5/30).
