Initiative Media Future's ViewerTrack shows that Formula 1 is returning to popularity after research into the audience figures for the first three Grands Prix of the season.
According to ViewerTrack, the indications are that, after a weak start, viewers are returning to F1 racing, with the first race of the season in Melbourne, Australia attracting a global rating (for live and as-live broadcasts) of 1.9, down slightly on last year's 2.0. The second race of the season in Sepang, Malaysia attracted a global rating of 2.7 against 3.1 last time.
However, with the first two races of the year throwing up two winners in David Coulthard (Australia) and Kimi Raikkonen (Malaysia) and a lot of wheel-to-wheel racing, it is not surprising that the Brazil GP, held last weekend, scored a global rating of 7.0, up from 6.1 last year -- the biggest jump so far.
The Brazilian race was won by Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella in an incident-packed Grand Prix, which saw torrential rain, the world champion Michael Schumacher crashing out and a controversial end to the race when Raikkonen was initially declared winner after the race was stopped when Fernando Alonso hit the crashed Jaguar of Mark Webber.
The research also showed that of all the key global regions, F1 is most popular in Europe -- the Brazilian Grand Prix achieved 12.4 live ratings in Europe versus 7.1 live ratings globally. Of all markets analysed, F1 is most popular in Finland where the average race has achieved 22.8 ratings (all individuals) so far this season, perhaps unsurprising given the common view that 23-year-old Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen is a world champion in the making.
The good news comes after a difficult period for the sport, with the Arrows team going bust at the end of last year and reported financial difficulties at a number of teams, including European Minardi and Jordan, which lost title sponsor DHL before the season began.
The rule changes were brought about to improve the F1 spectacle, which had been dominated by races in which very little overtaking took place on the track, and to reduce costs as sponsors pulled out of the sport and tobacco advertising is banned. However, BMW.WilliamsF1 bucked the trend recently, announcing a new sponsor in the shape of GlaxoSmithKline's nicotine replacement therapy NiQuitin CQ.
IM Futures has conducted a ViewerTrack analysis of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship 2003 in 41 markets around the globe, and in all major markets where an F1 Grand Prix takes place.
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