Almost 30 Million To Watch England’s Euro 2004 Debut

A staggering 29 million UK viewers will tune in to watch England play France in the opening round of Euro 2004 football championships this Sunday, according to research carried out by media agency, Carat.

The study predicts that around 22 million of these will watch the opening England match in the tournament on ITV1, in a move that will generate around £6 million in advertising revenue for the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster (see ITV Set To Score £6 Million From England Game).

The early evening kick-off means that the remaining 7 million sports fans will watch the game in bars and pubs around the country. However, this so-called ‘lager-in-hand viewing’ will not be measured by BARB and therefore will not be paid for by advertisers.

Carat questioned more than 1,000 people in a survey measuring levels of interest in Euro 2004. The study found that 36% of the UK population could be classified as football-crazed Euro2004philes, with 47% of those surveyed falling into the less enthusiastic Euro2004phobe camp.

Almost three-quarters of those that were interested in the tournament were men under the age of 45, who were more likely to be living in the Midlands and the Northwest of England. The majority of those showing no interest in the event were women and those from Yorkshire and the Northeast of the country.

Carat claims that real Euro2004philes are not just interested in the England team, but will watch games involving France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Holland. The study predicts that the first round Denmark versus Italy game will be watched by 8.3 million viewers, while Russia versus Greece will be seen by around 5.5 million football fans.

According to the study, Euro2004philes are more likely to be attentive to both the game and are therefore better at remembering the ads in the commercial breaks. It claims that the less high-profile games offer ‘hidden benefits’ and will allow advertisers to deliver brand messages in a more effective manner.

Carat’s predicted viewing figures for the Euro 2004 championships are much higher than BARB’s consolidated data for the previous Euro 2000 event. The highest rated game in the tournament was England versus Portugal, which attracted just under 15 million viewers to ITV1.

ITV recently announced that it is experiencing a surge in advertising revenue following a high demand for commercial spots during its coverage of the Euro 2004 tournament. The broadcaster claims to be enjoying the ‘most buoyant’ airtime advertising market for four years, with a number of high-profile motoring manufacturers clambering to associate themselves with the event (see ITV Sees Revenue Surge As Euro 2004 Approaches).

Carat: 020 7430 6000 www.carat.com

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