MUMBAI: International Sportsworld Communicators (ISC), the global media and commercial rights holder for the Fia World Rally Championship (WRC) has announced the latest TV audience statistics and data.
It shows that the worldwide television audience of the WRC has increased 44 per cent in three years. In India viewers can catch WRC action on ten Sports.
WRC worldwide audience figures have grown by 44 per cent from 2002 to 2005. In the same time frame, the reach of WRC has also developed significantly with new broadcasters tapping into previously untouched territories and new programming, resulting in a 158 per cent increase in the total number of hours of coverage from 1,780 in 2002 to 4,610 in 2005.
Year on year, WRC has seen a 3.7 per cent increase in its worldwide audience to 802 million during 2005. WRCs site www.wrc.com has seen a 25 per cent increase in average monthly visitors from 323,728 in 2004 to 403,027 in 2005, peaking at 590,000 during Wales Rally GB.
The total number of dedicated WRC broadcasts has increased by almost 27 per cent during last year, with 6,696 dedicated WRC broadcasts in 2005 in comparison to 5,281 the year before.
The introduction of Rally World in 2005, a new rally magazine programme, contributed to a 31 per cent increase in the average number of broadcasts per rally since April 2005.
Coverage in Japan saw a 36.4 per cent increase from 17.1 million viewers in 2004 to 23.3 million by the end of 2005 as TV coverage increased on existing networks.
Other key TV markets also saw a rise in audience viewing figures since 2004 with Spain boasting a 34.8 per cent increase as a result of new programming on existing networks and France improving by 18.5 per cent as a result of increased programming on France 2 and M6.
Figures in Scandinavian TV markets showed similar increases during 2005, as a result of additional programming and consistent broadcast schedules. Norways audience figures increased by over 50 per cent, Swedens by 10 per cent, Finlands by 1.5 per cent and Denmarks increased by over 100 per cent.
