German pay-TV channel Sky "was able to break the 1-million-viewer mark twice with its Bundesliga broadcasts over the weekend," according to Alexander Krei of DWDL. On Saturday afternoon, Sky attracted an average of 1.36 million viewers to its Bundesliga simulcast or one of its five individual game feeds. In the target demographic 14-49, the pay-TV network obtained a 13.1% market share. The following "match of the week" between Dortmund and Leverkusen was watched by 1.01 million viewers and had a 5.1% share in the target demographic. Leverkusen's 1-0 victory was therefore "the most watched match of the week that did not feature Bayern Munich." Sunday's early afternoon game between Freiburg and Wolfsburg was watched by 400,000 viewers. Only the game between Freiburg and Hertha Berlin earlier in the season "attracted less viewers" (DWDL, 12/9).
WINTER SPORTS: DWDL's Krei also reported German public broadcaster ARD attracted an average of 3.05 million viewers to its biathlon broadcast on Sunday. The women's 10km pursuit race, which started at 11:25pm, obtained a 22% market share. The following men's pursuit race was watched by 3.64 million viewers and had a 23% share. In the target demographic, the races obtained market shares of 12.7% and 12.9%, respectively. In addition, a total of 2.99 million viewers tuned in to watch ARD's coverage of the Nordic combined event from Lillehammer, Norway. The cross-country skiing race, which aired around noon, attracted 2.44 million viewers and had a 16.2% market share (DWDL, 12/9).
