Koenigssee, Germany (pps) The Viessmann Luge World Cup at Koenigssee, Germany, achieved almost sensational TV ratings. The 30-minute broadcast from the doubles race was watched by an average of 1.55 million TV viewers on public German TV station ARD. This means a market-share of 13.5 per-cent. Even 1.62 million viewers followed the one-hour live broadcast of the women’s event, a market-share of 12.8 per-cent.
The men’s competition also boasted great TV ratings on ARD. An average of 1.88 million viewers saw the very close victory of Russia’s Albert Demchenko over local hero Georg Hackl. The market-share was 21.6 per-cent.
The broadcasts from the Viessmann Luge World Cup at Koenigssee thus had a higher market- share than the transmissions of the women’s Alpine Ski World Cup at St. Catarina, Italy (19.3 per-cent) and the cross-country event of the Nordic Combined at Schonach, Germany (15.9 per-cent). Only the biathlon with the men’s (31.6 per-cent) and women’s (32.6 per-cent) relays at Oberhof, Germany, had a higher market-share than luge.