The average audience for England’s opening match of the Rugby World Cup was 7.8 million, "making it the most watched sporting event this year," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. ITV’s ratings peaked at 9.4 million, or "more than four in 10 of those watching at the time, as England opened their account with an at times nervy victory over Fiji." The average audience for the match was 8.7 million viewers.
However, the figures are still well below the 14.4 million that tuned in "to watch England play Italy in football’s World Cup last year" (GUARDIAN, 9/19).
IN SPAIN: MUNDO DEPORTIVO reported the EuroBasket final between Spain and Lithuania on Sunday, which Spain won 80-63, was the most-watched basketball game in the history of Spanish TV, with 6.1 million viewers. With a market share of 44.5% during the game, Telecinco's audience jumped to as high 6.4 million during postgame (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 9/21). LE FIGARO reported close to 300,000 spectators attended games during the tournament. Over two weeks 292,092 fans filled Montpellier's Park&Suite Arena and Lille's Stade Pierre-Mauroy. The record attendance for a European basketball game was broken three times: France-Turkey (26,135), France-Spain (26,922) and Spain-Lithuania (27,372) (LE FIGARO, 9/21).
F1 RACE: DWDL's Alexander Krei reported German free-to-air TV channel RTL "recorded more than 5 million viewers for its broadcast of the Singapore F1 Grand Prix." The race drew 5.26 million viewers -- 900,000 more than last year -- and had a market share of 31.7%. In the target demographic 14-49, the night race obtained a 25.1% share. The post-race analysis drew a 15.5% share as 3.68 million viewers tuned in. Pay-TV network Sky Deutschland, which also aired the race, attracted 350,000 viewers and drew a 3.1% market share in the target demo.
SUNDAY FOOTBALL: Sky Deutschland also "recorded more than 1 milion viewers for its Bundesliga broadcast on Sunday." The games, which started at 5:30pm on Sunday, drew 1.04 million viewers. The number translated into a market share of 7%. The earlier game between Schalke and Stuttgart obtained a 6% share as a 700,000 viewers tuned in. Football talkshow "Sky90" attracted 150,000 viewers -- 40,000 more than last week -- starting at 7:30pm. The market share increased from 0.4% and 0.8% from last week.
MORE FOOTBALL: Free-to-air TV channel ProSieben Maxx "drew a peak audience of 280,000 viewers for its NFL broadcasts." The game between the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills recorded a 2.1% market share in the target demo. A total of 240,000 viewers tuned in to watch the matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. The game's market share increased from 2.4% during the first quarter to 4.1% around midnight. In the male target demo 14-39, the Cowboy's 20-10 victory drew a 7.7% market share (DWDL, 9/21).
WOMEN'S GOLF: SPONSORs' Nils Lehnebach reported German public broadcaster ARD -- along with the local broadcaster -- "recorded below average ratings for its Solheim Cup coverage." The decision on Sunday drew an average of 600,000 viewers starting at 4:35pm. The number translated into a market share of 3.6% (SPONSORs, 9/21).
