MUMBAI: Last year the Fedration Internationale de l Automobile (FIA) had decided to modify its rules during the off season, in order to stop the regular overall decrease of their television ratings. The results are starting to show

Mdiamtrie International director Jacques Braun was quoted in a company release saying that through the use of an adapted TV format and with new drivers coming to the fore with the ability of beating Michael Schumacher, Formula 1 has started its TV audience reconquest.

For the first time since 2000, the average Formula One season audience ratings increased in France with an average of 3.6 million viewers, in Italy with approximately an average of 9.7 million viewers, and in the UK with an average of 3.2 million viewers. The best performance has come from Finland where driver Formula 1 attracted an average of one inhabitant out of five in front of their television for each Grand Prix.

Ironically despite the success of Schumacher the ratings have been steadily falling in Germany. Nevertheless, the races still gathered an average of nine million viewers. The programme for this new season will run for the first time in China and Bahrain. The FIA sees this as an opportunity to reach some geographical areas with a strong potential of television viewers.

In China the best score recorded was 7.9 million viewers on CCTV5 for the San Marino Grand Prix