Sochi (pps) An estimated 4.1 billion spectators all over the world followed the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, in front of their TV screens. This figure was published by the International Olympic Committee, IOC, subsequent to the end of the Games.

The record number of 88.000 hours of worldwide transmission time are considered to be a given. Pictures of the first Olympic Winter Games in Russia were broadcast by a record number of over 300 TV stations, among them more than 200 free TV stations.

Particularly in Germany luge broadcasts were followed by a record TV audience. About 9.22 million viewers (market share of 32.2 percent) saw the decision in the men’s singles, shown on Germany’s public TV station ZDF, and thus made it to the top of the Olympic TV rankings of both German public TV stations ARD and ZDF. Incidentally, three luge broadcasts made it to the top 10 of ARD and ZDF broadcasts – the third run in the men’s singles on ZDF, for instance, drew a TV audience of 7.88 million (market share 35.5 percent) and thus made it to fifth place.

The ZDF coverage of the first Olympic edition of the Team Relay event of the International Luge Federation, FIL, earned an eighth place on the ranking with a TV audience of 6.93 million spectators (market share 37.0 percent). This emphasized the great attraction of the new format.