Tour of Britain - TV and Online Hit
The tour of Britain live coverage sets new records for television and online
coverage in 2011
The Tour of Britain continues to be a hit on TV and online ITV4 Highlights
see almost 20% audience rise over 2010 figures. As well as being a resounding
success on the road, this September’s Tour of Britain was a huge hit on
television and online, recording a 17% increase in viewers to the daily ITV4
highlights.
Half a Million Viewers
On average over 483,000 viewers tuned in to see highlights of Britain’s biggest
professional cycle race, an increase of 17% over 2010’s average reach of
401,000.Stage Three, The Stoke-on-Trent Stage on Tuesday 13th September, saw the
programme’s largest audience, with 592,000 viewers tuning in to see Lars Boom
take victory and pull on the race leader’s IG Markets Gold Jersey.
Crowds wave The Tour off from the start in Exeter
Online too The Tour was a big hit, with the official website,
ww.tourofbritain.co.uk - seeing a massive increase of traffic, with over 2.49
million pages views during the eight days of The Tour from approaching 300,000
unique users. The Tour of Britain’s Twitter account also saw its 10,000th
follower subscribe during this year’s edition.
In addition to ITV4, twelve other channels around the world screened daily
highlights of The Tour of Britain, to a potential audience of over
75 million homes in 64 countries. Channels
from SBS in Australia to Sky New Zealand, via sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, plus
six European channels in Belgium, France, Italy, Ireland, Norway and Turkey kept
fans of The Tour of Britain around the world up-to-date with the daily coverage
showing the unfolding story of the 2011 battle for the IG Markets Gold Jersey.
Additionally there was also further coverage of The Tour of Britain in the
USA, where Cycling.TV broadcast highlights of The Tour to an online audience.
“The confirmation of our best ever viewing figures is the affirmation of what
has undoubtedly been the best ever edition of The Tour,” said SweetSpot Group
Chief Executive Hugh Roberts. “Coming off
the back of similarly excellent viewing figures for The Halfords Tour Series on
ITV4, and the success of the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana on the same
channel, it shows the increasing mass market appeal that professional cycling
has in Britain.
“Work is already well underway on the 2012 Tour of Britain, which we are
determined to once again take to the highest possible levels. Coming just a
month after the conclusion of the Olympics, interest in The Tour will be higher
once again and we are sure that the huge crowds will once again be at the
roadside for Britain’s largest free-to-attend sporting event.”
Earlier in 2011 television viewing figures for the third season of the unique
team based city centre Halfords Tour Series also underwent tremendous growth,
with the Series holding an average reach of 244,000 viewers on ITV4.
The overall 2011 Tour of Britain was won by Rabobank’s Lars Boom, with
British riders claiming both The Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jersey (Geraint
Thomas) and the Skoda King of the Mountains Jersey (Jonathan Tiernan Locke),
while Belgian riders took the remaining honours, with Pieter Ghyllebert winning
the new-for-2011 Yodel Sprints Jersey and Jelle Wallays the UNISON Best Young
Rider Award.
More details on the 2012 Tour of Britain, which will take place between
Sunday 9th and Sunday 16th September, will be revealed in the New Year, with
the full route announced in the Spring.
The Tour of Britain Notes:
- The 2012 Tour of Britain will take place between Sunday 9th and Sunday
16th September 2012
- Re-launched in 2004 after a five year absence from the calendar, The Tour
of Britain is now the UK’s biggest professional cycle race and the country’s
largest free-to-watch sporting event.
- Ranked at the 2.1 level by the UCI, the sport’s governing body, The Tour
of Britain attracts some of the world’s top cyclists, including Olympic and
World Champions and Tour de France stage winners,
to compete on British roads each September.
- The Tour of Britain is proud to be partnered with IG Markets, The Prostate
Cancer Charity and Yodel.
Tour of
Britain Sets Date for 2012
www.tourofbritain.co.uk
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