Rangers' Uefa Cup defeat nets 5.9m viewers for ITV1

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 15-May-08, 11:15

LONDON - ITV1's live coverage of the Uefa Cup final, in which Scottish side Rangers were beaten 2-0 by their Russian opponents Zenit St Petersburg, pulled in an average audience of 5.9m viewers last night, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The match, which was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home to Premier League side Manchester City, attracted a 27.9% share of the audience at 7.30pm-10pm.

It was the second most watched programme in the evening, only bettered by BBC One's smash hit 'The Apprentice'.

The eighth episode of the business reality series, in which contestant Sara Dhada was fired by Sir Alan Sugar, drew 6.8m viewers and a 28.3% share of the audience at 9pm-10pm.

A Channel 4 documentary on a morbidly obese father, 'Half Ton Dad', took 2.7m viewers and an 11.5% share at 9pm-10pm. Including Channel 4+1 ratings, the programme had 3m viewers and a 12.5% share.

The penultimate episode of BBC Two's 'Dan Cruickshank's Adventures in Architecture', in which the historian and writer celebrated architecture as a creative force in the world's greatest cities, was watched by 1.3m viewers and a 5.6% share of the audience at 9pm-10pm.

Earlier in the evening, Channel 4's long running property show 'Property Ladder' netted 2m viewers and a 9.6% share at 8pm-9pm, rising to 2.1m and 9.8% including Channel 4+1 ratings.

The broadcaster's US import 'Desperate Housewives' held steady with 1.8m viewers and a 10.3% share between 10pm-11.05pm, with Channel 4+1 taking the figures up to 1.9m and 10.9%.

ITV1's critically acclaimed crime drama 'Dexter' bowed out with 1.3m viewers and an 11.1% share between 10.35pm-11.35pm.