German public broadcaster MDR, which is part of ARD's portfolio of channels, "has recorded outstanding ratings for the broadcast of Michael Ballack's farewell game," according to Fabian Riedner of QUOTENMETER. The first half of the game, which started at 7:50pm German time, attracted 1.76 million viewers and reached a 6.8% market share. In the target demographic 14-49, MDR's broadcast was watched by 380,000 viewers and a top 4.1% share. The second half of the game, which started at 9:20pm, attracted 2.41 million viewers, and the market share increased to 9%. In the target demographic, the second half was watched by 670,000 viewers and had a 6.5% market share. In addition, German free-to-air TV channel Sport1 attracted 210,000 viewers for its broadcast of the U21 European championship opening game between Israel and Norway, which started at 6pm. The number translated into a 1.3% market share. In the target demographic, the game obtained a 0.7% share. The second game between England and Italy, which started at 8:30pm, was watched by 310,000 viewers and had a 1.1% share. In the target demographic, the game had a 0.9% market share (QUOTENMETER, 6/6).