BBC Nets 5m For Beijing Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics scored an average audience of 5m viewers for host broadcaster the BBC.
The broadcast of the four and a half hour spectacle produced a 50.8% average share of audience peaking at 5.4m viewers on BBC1.
In addition to the TV viewing figures a record 400,000 people watched the live stream of the opening ceremony on the BBC Sport website.
Roger Mosey, Director, BBC Sport said: ‘The early indications are that these Olympics are attracting audiences well beyond our expectations. The time zone means online usage is soaring, but we’re delighted with the television figures too.’
The viewing times for the UK audience are out of primetime given the time difference with host city Beijing.
Media buying agency Mindshare predicted that the opening ceremony would be watched by 2.3bn people worldwide making it the most watched live event in TV history.
