Horseracing attracts biggest TV audiences in years
Numbers tuning in to watch racing on the TV are booming, according to recent figures from the BBC and Channel 4
The Grand National attracted 10.1milion viewers to the BBC’s coverage on Saturday, 5 April — the biggest TV audience for the race since 2004.
After a dip in popularity, moving the Grand National to a later time slot of 5pm had been suggested, to increase viewing figures.
But Aintree Racecourse resisted the change and the race attracted its largest TV audience in recent years — at its original 4.15pm time.
The world-famous race rivalled the England v Switzerland football match— Fabio Capello’s first appearance as manager — as the most watched sporting event on the BBC this year.
The FA Cup semi-final, shown live on the BBC before the racing, was watched by only 3.4million.
And in March a record audience of two million tuned in to Channel 4 to watch the Cheltenham showdown between Kauto Star and Denman — over double the amount that watched Kauto Star crowned Champion in 2007.
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A graduate of Exeter University, Amy joined our news team from Redpin Publishing in 2008 as news writer. She was promoted to deputy news editor in May 2013 and became news editor in April 2015. She left Horse & Hound in March 2016 to take up an editorial position in Dubai.