Football Still Pulls For Terrestrial

With the recent launch of Sky’s digital service, and the huge proliferation of sports channels which exist on this service as well as cable and satellite, it is interesting to see that football still draws in large audience figures for terrestrial TV channels as well.

Channel 5’s recent coverage of the European Championships qualifier between Luxembourg and England was watched by an average of 4.38 million people. This figure is the highest audience that Channel 5 has received since it came on air, beating the previous peak, of 3.9 million, set by England’s World Cup qualifier against Poland.

The Manchester United vs. Barcelona game on ITV, networked in mid-September, drew substantial viewing figures, weighing in at a meaty 8.35 million.

Channel 5 quickly latched onto the soccer bandwagon pinching exclusive Liverpool coverage this season ( a shrewd move as all our other UEFA cup sides got knocked out on Tuesday night). Liverpool’s first leg against Valencia drew 2.16 million, up against Leeds Vs Roma on BBC.

Coverage of Arsenal’s last two games in the Champions Cup has nudged ahead of Manchester United’s double header against Lodz. Bigger audiences and satisfied advertisers are round the corner for ITV if either British side survive to the lucrative next stage.

Mediawatch, by Mediatel’s Newsline, is published every Friday in The Times