England’s Euro 2004 Defeat To Make Viewing History
England’s heart-wrenching Euro 2004 defeat against Portugal looks set to become most popular viewing event of the year, according to the latest audience research from Initiative Media.
The crucial quarter final match, which saw England drop out of the tournament after 30 minutes of extra time and an excruciating penalty shoot-out, attracted an average of just over 20.6 million to BBC One last Thursday (see Almost 25 Million Watch England’s Bitter Euro 2004 Defeat).
The latest ViewerTrack analysis shows that there was a sharp rise in viewing as the match progressed towards its unforgettable conclusion. BBC One gained an average 2 million extra viewers in the second half and a further 2 million during the penalty shoot-out.
Audiences reached their peak as Darius Vassell missed his crucial penalty and sent England plummeting out of the tournament. A staggering 24.7 million viewers watched with baited breath, equating to almost 46% of the UK population.
Many millions of viewers would have watched the match in pubs and bars across across the country and Initiative Media predicts that well over half the population witnessed England’s eleventh hour defeat.
A spokesperson for Initiative said: “Yet again, it is probable that the most popular TV event of the year in the UK will be England getting eliminated from a major international football tournament on penalties. Just as it was in Euro 1996 and the World Cups on 1990 and 1998.”
Earlier this month the ViewerTrack study revealed that Hyundai is winning the Euro 2004 sponsorship war with its on-pitch advertising gaining more exposure than any other of the tournament’s official sponsors (see Hyundai Takes The Lead In Euro 2004 Sponsorship War).
Initiative Media: 020 7663 7000 www.initiativemedia.com
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