Live coverage of the first Formula 1 test of 2020 performed solidly in the UK, consolidated figures released by BARB show.
For the first-time ever, F1 covered all six days of testing live, with Sky Sports acting as co-producers throughout the two tests.
Viewing figures in this article only include those that watch via the TV set, excluding those that watched via other devices such as Sky Go and Now TV.
Audience figures were generally stable during the first test. The first afternoon from Barcelona averaged 49,000 viewers from 13:00 to 17:00, with the post-session wrap-up show averaging 31,200 viewers. The morning session averaged fewer than 21,400 viewers via the TV set.
Action on the second day averaged 29,500 viewers, with 22,200 viewers watching the morning session and 36,800 viewers watching the afternoon segment. 29,200 viewers watched The Story so Far after the chequered flag had fallen.
The final day of test one recorded the highest numbers of the week, with an average of 38,200 viewers watching testing, split 37,500 and 39,100 respectively. The week hit a peak with The Story so Far on Friday, averaging 53,000 viewers.
Year-on-year comparison are difficult given that some of last year’s action also aired on Sky Sports Main Event.
However, we can see the impact of F1 testing through Sky Sports F1’s weekly reach, which surged from 348,000 viewers for the week commencing 10th February to 850,000 viewers for the week commencing 17th February, a jump of 144 percent.
Last year, the weekly reach jumped from 372,000 viewers to 679,000 viewers for the first test, a weaker jump of 82 percent, although this could be because Sky Sports Main Event simulcasted some of the coverage.
During February 2018, when testing did not air live, Sky F1 hit a weekly reach high of 472,000 viewers, and the jump back then was a result of the annual Race of Champions event. All other weeks in that month averaged under 300,000 viewers.
In comparison, a typical race week reaches just over two million viewers, showing that, although the testing figures are naturally lower, there is appetite for it.
The reason for the huge difference between the averages and the channel reach will be because of the ‘dip in, dip out’ nature of testing, meaning different viewers may have viewed different days, and so on.
Formula E increases on Eurosport; WRC starts positively on ITV4
Although figures for the BBC are unavailable, consolidated viewing figures for Eurosport’s coverage of Formula E show a significant jump for season six so far.
The Santiago E-Prix in January averaged 42,400 on Eurosport, whilst the Mexico City E-Prix four weeks later February 15th averaged 61,700 viewers in a 22:00 time slot.
What is unclear is whether these are new viewers to Formula E, or viewers who previously watched the electric series on Channel 5 but opted to migrate to Eurosport instead of pressing the BBC’s Red Button.
Elsewhere, highlights of the first two rounds of the World Rally Championship on ITV4 have averaged 213,900 viewers and 232,900 viewers for Monte Carlo and Finland respectively.
Both numbers are in-line with what the series was averaging when it last aired on ITV4 in 2015.
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Good viewing figures for WRC highlights, particularly if you bear in mind that WRC highlights aren’t available on ITV’s catchup service, ITV Hub
I live in the U.S. and I’ve been subscribing to F1 TV Pro since it launched. The primary attraction of F1 TV Pro for me is the availability of the replays, which are available immediately after all sessions and races. I don’t have to choose between getting up at 5 am for most races or avoiding all news for half a day while waiting for a torrents to appear. It’s been a game changer for me.
Has Liberty released and subscriber or viewing figures for F1 TV Pro?
Regarding the WRC figures, didn’t ITV4 drop it originally because of those type of numbers? Obviously early days yet, but that is probably only reflecting the current popularity of the sport.