TV
viewers stick with Wales despite defeat
Television
viewing figures have revealed that there is nothing that draws the
Welsh nation together like a major sporting event – even when
Wales lose.
An
average of 600,000 people in Wales watched last night's (Wednesday
19 November) coverage of Wales being defeated by Russia in its Euro
2004 bid on BBC ONE and S4C with the audience peaking at 670,000.
The
figures do not include the estimated tens of thousands of people
who watched the match in pubs and clubs all over Wales nor, of course,
the record crowd at the Millennium Stadium.
The
audience exceeded the number who watched Wales's recent Rugby World
Cup defeat by England and represents the highest viewing audience
in Wales for a football match since the heartbreaking World Cup
defeat by Romania ten years ago.
Viewers
in Wales have a long tradition of cheering our boys on to the bitter
end – and don't switch off when the going gets tough.
The
record audiences in Wales for sporting occasions were also for disappointing
defeats, with over 700,000 people watching Wales lose Six Nations
rugby matches to England and Scotland in 1996.
The
Wales v Russia match was shown UK-wide on BBC ONE and attracted
a peak audience of 6.8 million.
The
average UK audience of 6 million was three times the number who
watched Scotland's defeat in Holland on Channel Five.
All the
BBC's digital services are now available on Freeview,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable.
Freeview
offers the BBC's eight television channels, interactive services
from BBCi, as well as 11 national BBC radio networks.
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