TV audience figures for the first six events of the FIA World Touring Car Championship in 2012, improved by 45 percent compared to the previous season.
Figures were unveiled by Eurosport Events, the championship promoter, following the midseason broadcast report published by independent German institute IFM.
Over 471 hours of coverage, the cumulative global reach totalled to 254 million viewers worldwide, against the record figure of 175 million achieved on the same period in 2011.
Especially good performances were delivered by free-to-air channels in Germany (RTL), Hungary (MTV), Morocco ( 2M) and Japan (TXN network, including TV Tokyo and TV Osaka).
Ulrich Lacher, Managing Director of IFM, commented: “WTCC – unlike many other series – again shows a healthy increase, continuing the trend from the previous years. We attribute that to the growing popularity as a result of the good TV distribution of the series, which has made its way onto a number of major national networks in key motorsport markets like Japan, USA, China and Germany. The series is expanding beyond pan-continental broadcasters like Eurosport and Star Sports.”
Antonios Argyropoulos, Head of Media Rights Distribution, Eurosport Events, said: “WTCC can now look at another record breaking season with the conservative aim of exceeding the mark of half-billion viewers in 2012.”
WTCC benefits from TV coverage, including programmes in Europe, Americas, Japan and the Asia-Pacific regions through 87 broadcasters and in 180 countries around the world.
MULLER Yvan
180 pt.
TARQUINI Gabriele
114 pt.
NYKJÆR Michel
86 pt.
NASH James
83 pt.
CHILTON Tom
77 pt.
HUFF Rob
75 pt.
CORONEL Tom
65 pt.
MACDOWALL Alex
65 pt.
ORIOLA Pepe
49 pt.
MICHELISZ Norbert
48 pt.
NASH James
67 pt.
NYKJÆR Michel
62 pt.
MACDOWALL Alex
60 pt.