France bow out of Euro 2008 in front of 6.3m on BBC One

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 18-Jun-08, 09:00

LONDON - BBC One's live coverage of France's elimination from Euro 2008 in a 2-0 defeat to Italy netted 6.3m viewers, the highest ratings of the tournament so far, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The match, in which France were reduced to 10 men in only the 25th minute after conceding a penalty that saw defender Eric Abidal sent off, attracted a 28.2% share of the audience between 7.30pm-10pm.

The popularity of the football hurt ITV1's perennial favourite 'Midsomer Murders', starring John Nettles, which had just 3.8m viewers and a 16.5% share between 8pm-10pm.

Channel 4 had a strong night, with the fourth episode of cosmetic makeover series '10 Years Younger', earning 2.4m viewers and a 10.7% share, between 8pm-9pm. The audience including Channel 4+1 ratings was 2.6m and 11.4%.

The sixth episode of 'Gordon Ramsay's F Word', which featured former deputy prime minister John Prescott cooking fishcakes and Dannii Minogue making a vegetarian risotto, brought a solid 3.2m viewers and a 13.5% share to Channel 4 between 9pm-10pm. Including Channel 4+1, it earned 3.5m viewers and a 14.8% share.

'Big Brother' continues to hold its audience just above the 3m mark, with last night's instalment at 10pm-11.05pm landing 3.3m viewers and an 18.9% share. The audience including Channel 4+1 ratings was 3.4m viewers and a 19.8% share.