SBS sees the most succeful Eurovision coverage on record

SBS sees the most successful Eurovision coverage on record

12 May, 2014

News Release

Last night's coverage of the Grand Final of the 59th Eurovision Song Contest attracted a combined average Metro and Regional audience of 618,000 and a peak audience of 927,000.

The Grand Final also had an average Metro audience of 476,000 and a peak audience of 652,000 and an average Regional audience of 142,000 with a peak of 275,000.

Semi-final one had a combined average Metro and Regional audience of 623,000 and a peak audience of 881,000. The broadcast of the first semi-final also saw a lift in audience, year on year, with an 8% growth in Total People for Metro plus Regional audiences.

Semi-final two attracted a combined average Metro and Regional audience of 784,000 and a peak audience of 1.028 million. The broadcast of the second semi-final also saw a lift in audience, year on year, with a 36.2% growth in Total People for Metro plus Regional audiences.

The SBS Eurovision final and its two semi-finals, hosted by Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang, reached a combined Metro and Regional audience of 2.971 million viewers over the weekend (2.229 million Metro and 742,000 Regional).The Grand final recorded a metro FTA share of 11.1% and a Regional share of 7.0%, as Australia tuned in to see Austria's, Conchita Wurst take out the competition with 290 votes.

The second semi-final also recorded a Metro FTA share for People 25-54 of 13.7% and 9.1% for Regional. People 16-39 recorded a 17.0% (Metro) and 10.6% (Regional). People 18-49 recorded a 14.8% share (Metro) and 9.5% (Regional).

Director of Television, Tony Iffland said:

SBS has been broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest for over 30 years now and I am delighted that this has been our most successful to date.

The popularity of Eurovision continues to grow in Australia each year and I think that is testament to the outstanding coverage our production partners Blink TV deliver, the charm and witticism of our hosts Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang, our ability to engage audiences, letting them join in the fun and spectacle of the event through social media and this year, Australia's direct involvement in the broadcast and the wonderful performance of Jessica Mauboy.

SBS continues to deliver and lead the way in multi-platform event viewing, maximising coverage of this year's Eurovision Song Contest through TV, radio, online and live social media integration.

Over the weekend the #SBSEurovision hash tag received over 161,174 tweets with a peak of approximately 1000 tweets per minute during the broadcasts. The #SBSEurovision hash tag was trending at number one across all three nights.

SBS Chief Digital Officer, Marshall Heald said:

Once again, Eurovision has proven to be a fantastic example of Australian viewers joining into a national conversation about a live TV event using social media with a peak of almost 1,000 tweets per minute. SBS was able to gather public content from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share with viewers on-screen. Almost 600 tweets, and over 300 photos from lounge rooms across Australia enjoying Eurovision parties were shared on screen during the broadcasts.

The SBS Eurovision website received 217,000 visits this month, up 32% year on year. The site also saw 160,000 Unique Browsers, up 45% year on year. The Eurovision content served 101,000 video views across sbs.com.au and SBS On Demand applications. This is 2.7 times as many as last year.

Australia also agreed with Europe, voting Austria's Conchita Wurst and her song Rise Like a Phoenix', Australia's Unofficial Eurovision Winner with 74,434 votes. Sweden's Sanna Nielsen came in second with her song Undo' receiving 53,562 votes, which was followed by The Netherlands' The Common Linnets with Calm After The Storm' on 33,990 votes.

Source: OzTAM 5 City Metro, RegTAM Agg Reg, Total Individuals, Ppl 16-39, Ppl 18-49 and Ppl 25-54, Av Aud, FTA Share, Peak Minute, Reach (based on 5 mins consecutive) Overnight data (Live + As Live viewing), Mass Relevance, Nielsen Site Census.

ENDS

LINK:	http://www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/news-media-releases/view/id/879/h/SBS-se...
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