Man United semi-final victory pulls in 8.6m for ITV

by Nikki Sandison, Brand Republic 30-Apr-08, 11:05

LONDON - The concluding leg of the Uefa Champion's League semi-final between Manchester United and Barcelona drew in an average of 8.6m viewers for ITV1, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The game, in which Manchester United beat Barcelona 1-0 guaranteeing the first all-England Champions League final, achieved a 33.9% share of the audience for ITV.

The average audience of 8.6m topped the average of 8.1m viewers tuning in last week to watch the semi-final clash between Chelsea and Liverpool.

Channel 4 had a good night despite the competition from the football, attracting 2.3m viewers for the second episode of its 'Embarrassing Bodies' series and an 8.9% share of the 9pm-10pm audience. Including Channel 4+1 it drew in 2.7m viewers and a 10.2% share.

It beat Five, which attracted 2.1m for 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' and an 8% share of the audience.

Channel 4 also did well in the 8pm slot with 2.5m tuning in to watch 'How to Look Good Naked', a 10% share of the audience at this time. Including Channel 4+1 figures, the number increased to 2.7m and a 10.4% share.

BBC One's 'Holby City' came second after the football in the 8pm-9pm slot, pulling in 5.7m viewers and a 22.4% share of the audience.

The BBC suffered because of the Champions League match for its second part of 'Waking the Dead''s 'Duty and Honour' storyline but still netted 5.9m viewers and a 22.8% share of the 9pm-10pm audience. The first part last week won the 9pm-10pm slot with 6.8m viewers and a 28.5% share.