Five Bowled Over By Cricket Audience

Five has snapped up a healthy share of male ABC1 viewers with its first prime-time broadcast of cricketing highlights.

The best of the action from the opening day of the Test Match against Sri Lanka at Lords last Thursday bagged a peak audience of 700,000, with a total of 1.3 million viewers during the 45-minute slot from 7.15-8pm.

With an average viewing figure of 630,000, numbers surpassed even Channel 4’s highlights of the opening Ashes Test against Australia last year (494,000), when cricket fever spread through the country. Five also beat its own average audience share for the time slot by 30%.

A further breakdown of these figures reveals that five gained an 8.2% share of ABC1 Men – above average and greater than the 6.8% who tuned in to Channel 4’s news at the same time. However, more watched the Test live on Sky, with Sky Sports achieving a 10% share of ABC1 Men during live coverage between 4pm and 7pm, when total viewing figures averaged 899,000.

But Five remains pleased with the figures and the upmarket profile of viewers, which will attract high-spending advertisers. Robert Charles, Five’s Controller of Sport, said: “This is an excellent start to our coverage and shows the appetite there is for England’s Test Matches in peak-time.

“We know the audiences will increase as the summer goes on, especially when Pakistan are the opponents. Not only are the figures good but the type of audience viewing is of an excellent profile for our advertisers.”

Five: 020 7550 5555 www.five.tv