In the UK, BSkyB’s audiences remained broadly stable, while pay-television rival Setanta reported a 36-per-cent increase in live match audiences, reflecting the growth of its subscriber base.
Public-service broadcaster the BBC’s audiences for its flagship highlights programme on Saturdays, Match of the Day, fell for the first time in since 2004-05 season, down just over 2 per cent. However audiences for its Sunday highlights programme Match of the Day 2 continued to grow, up 6 per cent this year.
In Italy, Serie A live match audiences on Rupert Murdoch’s satellite broadcaster Sky Italia are up about 25 per cent.
For more detailed analysis see the next issue of TV Sports Markets.