The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship can announce a third straight increase in its ITV1 viewing figure following its latest race meeting at Brands Hatch.
Last Sunday, a peak audience of 1.341 million people tuned in to watch ITV1’s live hour-long BTCC show. By comparison, that is some 400,000 more than watched the World Rally Championship that immediately preceded it.
The latest figure means a consecutive increase in viewers watching the BTCC on ITV1. Live coverage from the opening round at Donington Park on 10 April drew 1.2 million and week-delayed highlights of round two at Thruxton on 7 May attracted a 1.25 million audience. With 1.34 watching Brands Hatch, close to four million viewers have now seen the first three rounds.
Brands Hatch was the second of seven BTCC race meetings to receive live ITV1 coverage in 2005. The next race meeting, from Oulton Park in Cheshire on 19 June will receive even greater air time with the action being shown from 16.00-17.30.
The Donington, Thruxton and Brands programmes have also been repeated in their entirety in evening mid-week slots on ITV1, exposing the BTCC to a new, late-night audience. By the end of the season, ITV1 will have dedicated 25 hours of coverage to the ten BTCC race meetings.
BTCC Series Director Alan Gow says: “These are terrific figures, particularly at a time when a lot of television programmes struggle to hold a consistent audience. Our viewing figures continue to climb, which proves the attraction of the BTCC to millions of people around the country.
“The BTCC is now second only to Formula One in terms of four-wheel motor sport popularity on television in the UK. That is a tremendously strong selling point for teams and drivers when negotiating with potential sponsors and underlines the enormous appeal of our championship.
“The feedback we keep receiving is what compelling viewing the BTCC makes on ITV1. Much of that is down to the excellent production work by the team from ISN/Granada Sport and ITV should be applauded for getting behind this great British championship. Of course the action-packed racing we continually deliver guarantees a great viewing experience for the millions that tune in.”
In addition to being shown on ITV1, the BTCC is broadcast across European by satellite channel Motors TV that has a potential audience of 36 million subscribers. Motors TV shows most BTCC race days live. In 2005 it will have dedicated more than 70 hours of live coverage to the BTCC.
Highlights of each BTCC race meeting are also shown on television outlets in North and South America, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, China, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, New Zealand, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
