Sky beats Channel 4 with highest viewing share to date

by Sam Matthews,, Brand Republic 05-Jan-05, 08:30

LONDON – Sky has witnessed its highest viewing share to date of 9.6% of the total TV audience last week, beating its previous high of 8.3% during the Iraq war and, for the first time, Channel 4 on 8.4%.

The network's performance was bolstered by sports highlights including Sky Sports 2's live coverage of Liverpool versus Chelsea, which garnered 1.71m on New Year's Day, live coverage of the second test between England and South Africa peaking at 686,000 peak on December 30 and the PDC World Darts Championship.

The premiere of the Jim Carrey film 'Bruce Almighty' was watched by 1.73m viewers on Sky Movies on January 1, while Sky One's 'The Simpsons' attracted 756,000 on the same day.

The audience for Sky News' coverage of the tsunami disaster peaked at 290,000 on 31 December, with average audiences up around 50% year on year.

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