Australia’s linear TV viewing figures for this year’s Melbourne Cup "are down as hundreds of thousands switched to live streaming" the nation’s favorite horse race, according to Rebecca Hawkes of RAPID TV NEWS. Linear TV figures reached 1.99 million viewers in Australia’s five metro cities, down from 2.07 million in '15, according to OzTAM. However, streaming figures from all of broadcaster Seven’s channels, including the Plus7 Live app, "topped 575,000 across the day" -- up 18% on last year’s figures (RAPID TV NEWS, 11/3). AD NEWS reported the race also "streamed live on Twitter for the first time after the social media company secured streaming rights with the Victorian Racing Club." The final Twitter stream figures have not been reported. Seven West Media Chief Digital Officer Clive Dickens said, "It's a great result all round. The 'total video' live broadcast and live streaming audience across the Melbourne Cup Day across the Seven Network increased when considering/adding the live streams was ahead of last year." Seven said that in individual TV markets, the audiences were also "outstanding." In Melbourne alone, "an average audience of 947,000 viewers watched the race, with the audience peaking at 976,000" (AD NEWS, 11/2).
