Hamilton's German F1 victory nets ITV1 3.3m viewers

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 21-Jul-08, 11:10

LONDON - ITV1's live coverage of the German Grand Prix, in which British driver Lewis Hamilton drove to victory, netted an average audience of 3.3m viewers yesterday, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The race captured a 31.1% share of the audience between 12-3pm and Hamilton's win means that he now leads the championship by four points.

However, Hamilton could not eclipse the popularity of BBC Two's 'Top Gear', which pulled in 6.1m viewers and a 25.6% share of the audience from 8pm-9pm.

The Sunday 8pm slot was won by ITV1's crime drama 'Midsomer Murders', starring John Nettles, which had 6.7m viewers and a 27.9% share.

BBC One's own crime drama 'George Gently', with Martin Shaw as the eponymous detective, snared 4.2m viewers and a 17.5% share in the same slot.

Later in the evening, the latest instalment of 'Big Brother' brought Channel 4 3m viewers and a 12.4% share between 9pm-10pm. Including Channel 4+1's ratings, the audience rose to 3.3m viewers and a 13.7% share.

The last episode of the channel's comedy and entertainment show the 'Sunday Night Project', earned 1.6m viewers and a 9.5% share between 10pm-11.10pm. Channel 4+1 viewing figures took the ratings up to 1.8m viewers and a 10.2% share.

Earlier in the day, BBC One's live coverage of the golf Open Championship, which saw Irish player Padraig Harrington achieve the rare feat of retaining the title after winning it last year, scored 1.2m viewers and a 12.4% share between 11am-2.30pm.