Over 6 Million Tune Into ITV1 For England Rugby

ITV scored a ratings victory on the weekend with the England rugby team’s crucial match against South Africa attracting a peak audience of more than 6 million viewers.

Saturday’s game, which saw England defeat the Springboks by 25 points to 6, averaged 5.3 million viewers and secured a 53.2% share of the available audience for ITV1, peaking at 57% during the closing stages.

A spokesperson for ITV said: “Once again the figures are extremely encouraging and show the appetite that viewers have for England’s quest to win the World Cup for the first time. The game was the biggest so far of the competition, and augurs well for the knockout stages of the event.”

ITV has been maximising the sponsorship opportunities afforded by the excitement of the Rugby World Cup and recently secured foreign exchange company, Travelex, as the main broadcast and online sponsor of the coverage (see Granada Secures Travelex For ITV Rugby Sponsorship).

Granada Enterprises also secured British Airways to sponsor a specially designed online rugby game to highlight the group’s sponsorship of the tournament (see ITV Teams With British Airways For Rugby World Cup).

Earlier this month ITV’s replay of the England football team’s goalless draw against Turkey attracted an average of 4.5 million viewers and secured a 23.1% share of the available audience between 9.25pm and 11.15pm (see England Game Brings Turkish Delight To Sky Sports).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

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