The start of the 2016 MotoGP season in Qatar dropped slightly compared with the 2015 opener, unofficial overnight viewing figures show.
Live coverage of race day, broadcast live on BT Sport 2 from 14:45 to 19:00 on Sunday 20th March, averaged 132k (0.9%). In comparison, last year’s coverage of race day averaged 172k (1.1%). The drop is largely down to tougher competition, most notably the Manchester derby in the Premier League on Sky Sports, which averaged nearly two million viewers. Furthermore, the MotoGP season opener was held a week earlier this year compared to last, meaning that races aired an hour earlier due to British Summer Time having not yet kicked in.
For the MotoGP race itself, live coverage from 17:30 to 19:00 averaged 201k (1.2%), peaking with 270k (1.5%) at 18:40. Last year’s race from 18:30 to 19:00 averaged 212k (1.1%), peaking with 263k. It was only Moto2 and Moto3 that really suffered on BT Sport, as mentioned above due to the tougher competition. The MotoGP race itself held up very well compared with 2015, the peak measure marginally up year-on-year which can only be good news for BT.
ITV4’s highlights on Monday 21st March from 20:00 to 21:00, averaged 341k (1.6%), peaking with 408k (1.9%). Both measures are down slightly on 2015’s Qatar average of 372k (1.6%) and 2015’s peak of 455k (1.9%). As the shares attest to, the total viewing audience was down year-on-year, so this is not a case of MotoGP dropping adversely compared to the competition. There would be more concern if the audience and share had dropped, but that is not the case here.
The combined audience of 542k is down on 2015’s number of 588k, whilst the peak number of 677k is down on the 718k number recorded last season. I do not think this year’s numbers in context are too bad when you consider the competition and also that MotoGP and Formula 1 started on the same weekend for the first time since 1995.
In a week where pay TV has dominated the four wheeled agenda, it should be reminded that the total MotoGP viewership (BT Sport and ITV) is down significantly on 2013’s numbers when MotoGP was live on free-to-air television. The Qatar MotoGP in 2013 on BBC Two averaged 1.67m (6.9%) from 19:30 to 21:00.
The 2015 Qatar MotoGP ratings report can be found here.
Motorsport Broadcasting 
This is Destiny of f1. 200k people watching . No one talking about it
Did watch motorbikes sometime ago and its not the most exciting sport to watch on tv. Its all just watching tarmac and the back end of the bike rider, yawn! NOt for any casual viewer, like F1.
Probably one of those thats its better to be by the side of the track and feel the bikes, if you like bikes.
It does not have all the drama, politics and common known history of F1, so pointless to compare it really.
Decided to give it a try… Wasn’t great given the hype people give it saying it’s better and more exciting than F1… Yet it was obvious at half distance who was going win… The commentators sounded bored.. The TV coverage from dorna was terrible focusing only on the front when nothing was even close to happening… Sorry but if that’s what people prefer they can keep it… I won’t be watching again
Problem with these pay TV companies is they see an event doing well on a “free to air” channel and think that by putting it behind a pay wall, all those fans will jump ship and follow.
Think they’re slowly working out that it just doesn’t work like that. And the end result? Companies over paying for a product that they can’t sell!!
I’m yet to see a smart broadcaster who buys up the rights of these “niche” sports, broadcasts them on a FTA channel and then uses that channel to plug their other packages.
Throw in a sponsor for the event, advertising revenue and it’s win, win situation all round.
They keep the viewers, sponsor gets coverage, their other channels get a lot of plugs, and they still attract new viewers instead of the product stuck behind a pay wall with dwindling viewing numbers.
Simple eh?