25/10/2006
NEWS STORY
German broadcaster RTL has revealed the viewing figures for Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher's last race, were the highest in five years.
The audience peaked at 14.8 million, with the (audience) share increasing from 24% (2005) to 39.7% this year. This compares with a steady decline over the previous five seasons.
Broadcasters in a number of other countries, including Spain, home of World Champion, Fernando Alonso, Italy and Britain also reported record figures.
That said, in addition to the fact that the race marked the end of Michael Schumacher's 16-year F1 career, it should be noted that the timing of the Brazilian race, as is the case with the Canadian and United States rounds, means the race is shown in Europe, the sport's key market, at a prime Sunday evening viewing time, thereby attracting many viewers who might not normally tune into F1.
This is at odds with Bernie Ecclestone's policy of bringing more and more eastern countries on board, such as China and South Korea, which, due to the time difference to Europe, results in significantly lower viewing figures.