ITV Racing’s second year of covering the Cheltenham Festival saw a 4% drop in viewing figures overall and a 14% drop in the peak audience for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the meeting’s feature event, according to figures released by the broadcaster on Tuesday. However, ITV’s total audience was over a quarter more than that attracted by the final year of Channel 4’s coverage in 2016.
The total audience across the four afternoons of this year’s Festival was 3.423m and the daily total was down on Tuesday, Thursday and for Friday’s coverage of the meeting’s showpiece race in particular. The peak audience as Native River defeated Might Bite after a thrilling head-to-head between the two chasers from the off was 1.635m – a drop of 268,000 on 2017’s figure of 1.903m.
Wednesday’s card, which featured Altior’s defeat of Min in the Champion Chase, was the only afternoon to show an increase in viewers, with an average figure of 864,000, up 114,000 (15.2%) on the 2017 average of 750,000.
While ITV was keen to point ouday that 11 of the 20 races shown live during the week attracted a seven-figure peak, the decline in the Festival’s overall audience is likely to be a cause of some concern both forthe broadcaster and for the sport, which sold ITV a £30m, four-year monopoly on all terrestrial coverage of racing from the start of 2017.
ITV will have been hoping to build audiences for the meeting throughout the duration of its contract and started to promote its Festival coverage several weeks in advance. Cheltenham and Royal Ascot are the two most important meetings of the year from a broadcaster’s point of view and a similar decline in the audience either for this year’s Royal meeting or for next year’s Festival could set alarm bells ringing over the value of the contract before renewal talks begin next year.
Footpad, who was one of the biggest stars of the Festival when he eased to victory in the Arkle Trophy Novice Chase, has been taken out of the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse this weekend and is now expected to line up for a Grade One contest at Aintree’s Grand National meeting next month.
Newcastle 5.45 Something Brewing 6.15 Lukoutoldmakezbak 6.45 Harmonica 7.15 Carpet Time 7.45 Fountain Of Time 8.15 Elixsoft 8.45 Windforpower
Warwick 2.10 Tossapenny 2.40 Harefield (nb) 3.15 Militarian (nap) 3.50 Banco De Logos 4.25 The Last Bridge 4.55 Now McGinty
Wincanton 2.00 Darcy Ward 2.30 Burst Ya Bubble 3.05 She’s Gina 3.40 Somchine 4.15 Pink Gin 4.45 Carraig Mor 5.15 Blu Cavalier
Wolverhampton 2.20 A Sure Welcome 2.50 New Street 3.25 Koubba 4.00 One Second 4.35 Custard The Dragon 5.05 Jeremy’s Jet
