The BBC "was delighted with provisional figures that suggest the first women’s boat race to be broadcast live on TV was watched by nearly five million people," according to Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. Saturday’s race, won by Oxford by 6 1/2 lengths from Cambridge, "was watched by 4.8 million people, with 6.2 million tuning in to watch the men’s race, also won by Oxford by 6 1/2 lengths, an hour later." BBC TV Sport Head Philip Bernie said, "We’re really pleased with the figures for the boat races on a massive day of sport." The viewing figures "were higher than in 2010 and 2012, although down on last year’s peak of 7.7m." However, "these were provisional figures that may yet be revised upwards on Monday" (GUARDIAN, 4/12).
STAWELL GIFT: The 134th Woolworths Stawell Gift was witnessed by more than half a million viewers as it returned to the Seven Network. Sports fans across Australia watched the two and a half hour live coverage of the event on Easter Monday, with a national peak audience of 561,000 viewers. The national average audience for the 12pm-2:30pm telecast was 227,000 on Channel 7 and 7mate, up 49% on last year (Stawell Gift).
