CHENNAI: #FootballTakesOver was the anthem when the U-17 World Cup rolled into town. The Indian public took that as a clarion call, filling the six stadia with enthusiasm usually reserved for the Indian cricket team. Attendance figures have crossed a million and with four matches to go (three of them being in Kolkata), chances of this being the most attended U-17 World Cup are high (12,30,976 in China in 1985 is the current record). However, the tastes of the TV audience have not changed an awful lot. India — Australia ODI and T20I series grabbed more eyeballs than the ongoing World Cup. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) figures for the week from 7th October to 13th October paints a picture.
Four of the top five sports channels with the highest weekly impressions all belonged to STAR Sports. Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) — the host broadcaster of the World Cup — was in fourth place. Sony Ten 1’s weekly impressions for the week were an impressive 11,39,07,000 but it finished well below STAR Sports 1 Hindi (25,73,83,000), STAR Sports First (17,46,88,000) and STAR Sports 1 (16,28,08,000).
Interestingly, when you consider the top five sports programmes based on average rating, not a single U-17 World Cup-related feature makes the list. The top impressions were the 1st and 2nd T20Is between India and Australia.
swaroop@newindianexpress.com