C5 World Cup Game Watched By 5m

Channel 5’s coverage of the World Cup qualifier between England and Poland on Saturday night was watched by an average of 4.5 million people, with a peak audience of 5 million, according to unofficial overnight data. Of the average audience, it is estimated that around 3.9 million watched the game via the terrestrial signal, with the remainder tuning in through their cable and satellite systems. It is also estimated that an average of 1.1m people stayed tuned for the England Argentina Rugby Union Test match. Channel 5 said it was “very pleased” with these figures, which had “exceeded all our expectations”.

The quality of the coverage has so far received mixed reviews. While coverage of the game itself was generally well regarded by the press, some were put off by the sound of Jonathan Pearce’s voice and the background noise interrupting the pundits as they discussed the game above a café area. The Independent on Sunday said that Pearce’s delivery was “akin to a man who has just found a scorpion in his Y-fronts” while co-commentator Phil Thomson was criticised for his “Scouse banter which sometimes required sub-titles”.

TV buyers at one agency Newsline spoke to were unimpressed, saying that the coverage was poor and looked unprofessional. The commentary was also described as “bad”.

The coverage of the England Argentina Rugby Union test match came in for harsher criticism. Despite being billed as a “live” recording, the game was interrupted by advertising and in places had been edited. The fact that C5’s game clock was consistently behind the live clock from the Argentinean TV coverage gave it away, as did the lightening-quick speed with which an Argentinean conversion turned into a England ruck at the other end of the pitch.

The sound quality of the commentary was also appalling. The Times today wrote: “whoever it was using a Buenos Aires telephone box as a commentary position was virtually indecipherable.” The paper also described the coverage as “almost a farce”.

C5 is reported to have paid £1.2m for the football with an undisclosed sum handed over for the rugby. The evening’s entire sport’s coverage was sponsored by Nissan’s Almera, while advertisers included Direct Line, American Express, Mobil, Nestle (centre breaks during football) and Audi, Boots, Caffreys and Midland Bank (centre breaks during rugby).