The 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship drew in record viewing figures, after the annual report from German Institute IFM.
The figures showed that 430 million people tuned in to watch the 2009 season, an increase of 23% on the 2008 season, where 350 million people watched it on the Television, all over the world.
The 2009 campaign was televised on 75 different channels worldwide, 50 free to air channels and 25 on cable or satellite channels, or pan-regional channels in over 160 countries.
The global coverage of the 2009 WTCC generated 1,040 hours of dedicated broadcasts, a 15% increase over the previous years.
As well as the increase in Television viewers, the attendances trackside have increased, with 761,000 fans attending during the season, while website traffic hit 8.2million page views.
The vice Chairman of the Eurosport Group and Eurosport Events, Jacques Raynaud commented on the figures: “The WTCC is now firmly established and perceived as a true motorsport World Championship and we are extremely satisfied to see how it continues to break audience records season after season. These outstanding viewing figures prove that the WTCC’s popularity is growing steadily and appeals to large, diversified audiences. This success results from the events format which is compact, dynamic and entertaining and the high standard television broadcast that has seen the introduction of our landmark production in native HD. Our continuous innovations and a permanently renewed suspense have contributed to boost audiences. We look forward to continuing our development in 2010 and working with all our stakeholders to deliver another successful year.”
