The Monaco Grand Prix performed solidly during the Bank Holiday weekend, unofficial overnight viewing figures show.
Race
With warm weather damaging ratings across the board on Saturday and Sunday, Formula 1 escaped relatively unscathed thanks to a good figure for BBC’s highlights show, although Sky Sports F1’s live coverage was hit badly. Live coverage of the race on Sky Sports F1 averaged 797k (8.5%) from 12:00 to 15:30, which compares with 1.10m (12.1%) for the equivalent slot last year. That’s a drop of around 30 percent across both viewer and share measures. The total TV audience for the slot was marginally up yesterday for the slot, so for whatever reason, the race just didn’t perform well, unsurprisingly perhaps given that very little happened in the first 60 laps. There’s a pattern emerging that Sky’s coverage is struggling ratings wise year-on-year, which needs to be tracked as the season progresses.
BBC’s highlights programme was up year-on-year. The show averaged 3.44m (23.3%) from 17:05 to 18:05, up on last year’s highlights number of 3.33m (23.3%). That’s a good number, when you consider that last year’s highlights programme was boosted by Nico Rosberg’s qualifying incident. Overall, the combined audience of 4.23m is down 4.7 percent on last year’s audience of 4.44m. It is, however, up on 2013’s number of 4.00m. Overall, it is a good number, although I suspect one side will be a lot more pleased than the other.
Formula E and Indianapolis 500
Over the weekend, viewers failed to turn up for ITV4’s Formula E coverage from Berlin, which dropped to its lowest number since the Putrajaya ePrix last November. Live coverage on ITV4 from 14:00 to 16:30 averaged 112k (1.6%), peaking with 154k (2.2%) at 15:05. What’s unusual here is that the pre-race portion was above 100k for the majority, which is unusual, except that the programme failed to gain viewers after 15:00, and remained stagnant around 140k. It’s not a good number, being on the same weekend as the Monaco Grand Prix won’t help matters. Hopefully under the “lessons learnt” category for season one, the organisers add “don’t clash with F1.” As a general rule of thumb, having a race at the end of May won’t help anyone as all the attention from motor sport media is elsewhere.
Speaking of elsewhere, the Indianapolis 500 averaged 19k (0.1%) from 16:00 to 21:00 on ESPN. The race itself, from around 17:30 to 20:50 averaged 22k (0.1%), peaking with 46k (0.3%) at 18:15. One point I’d like to add, especially in the case of the 500, is that the numbers don’t include online viewing. Anyone (including myself) who watched via the BT Sport app will not be included in the above number, and the same applies for anyone who watched via any other sources.
The 2014 Monaco Grand Prix ratings report can be found here.
Motorsport Broadcasting 
It was a classic race with classic coverage from Sky.
The hackneyed decade by decade flashback VT, the boys on a jolly atmosphere and half arsed, weekend away with the boys attitude. Interviewing Lazenby’s Mrs, presumably on a subsidized jolly, a massive football segment that would have had most F1 fans screaming at the TV with venom and all usual generic by the numbers crap they pump out.
I also noticed this weekend that whoever does their twitter also has limited TV knowledge by calling the ex drivers ‘pundits’.
Er, but pundits are what they are. Just like football ‘pundits’ are ex players!
That’s incorrect, a pundit is layman who is considered to have expert knowledge on a topic.
The correct TV term for ex sports people is colourman or colour commentator not pundit.
Technically, but certainly isn’t widely refered to in that way by media organisations
Also WTF was the music on the outro VT, what are they going to use for Canada, Monty Python’s Lumberjack Song?
Once again Radio5 Live had an excellent commentary by JA and once again during the podium interview it seemed the entire BBC crew just pissed of to the pub and left the feed live, until an error message started to be broadcast saying that due to either contractual reasons or a error the stream was no longer available and please try later.
John the distinction between pundit and colourman is one is correct and the other isn’t. Just because lots of people don’t know what they’re talking about and use the term incorrectly doesn’t make it acceptable or factually accurate.
Sky calling their colourmen pundits is like a hospital administrator calling a foot specialist a pediatrician, a word that would cover this is incompetent, an apt word to describe Sky.
Out of interest…name one organisation in the UK that uses that?
No
I’m pretty sure colour commentator is a purely American term
The only reason colourman is used in America is because they actually know the difference. Most of the UK media industry is run by under-qualified, inexperienced blaggers who take zero pride in their work or knowledge.
Yeah but a commentator is different to a pundit… To me a pundit is someone in the studio to offer expert analysis before (sometimes during) and after the event a commentator are the ones who talk during the event… In Britain we use the old co commentator term to describe the colour commentator role. But colour commentator is an American term… Its also a term I hate.
Whether you use the term colourman or co-commentator, neither is a pundit. A pundit is a self proclaimed layman ‘expert’.
Lazenby – Host
Croft – commentator/pundit
Brundle – co-commentator/colourman
Hill – colourman
Herbert – colourman
Anthony Davidson – colourman
Pinkham – presenter
Kravitz – presenter/pundit
An industry which arguably produces the best sports coverage in the world…American sports presentation is very staid by comparison.
I would agree that Sky’s Premiership coverage is excellent, I would go as far as to credit them with improving the image of the game and having it return to a family sport.
Unfortunately F1 is not football and their attempt to recreate their football success with a ‘painting by numbers’ approach to the production falls flat on it’s face.
You can spit in any direction at Osterley and find a football fanatic ready to produce world beating football. Unfortunately those that aren’t that lucky produce begrudging, lack luster, dispassionate F1 coverage.