Cheltenham Festival off to flying start - biggest ratings since 2006

Channel 4’s coverage of Cheltenham Festival’s opening day attracted an average audience of 802k yesterday, with an audience share of 9.2%, making it the largest audience to Champion Day since 2006. This performance was up +5% compared with last year’s opening day which drew an average audience of 767k.

Coverage peaked at 1.3m which was flat compared with last year (5 min).

Due to the delayed start, Channel 4 extended its coverage from Prestbury Park and was on air from 12.40pm to 5pm. 

Jamie Aitchison, Channel 4 Sports Editor said “Yesterday was a fantastic day's sport and our production complemented that superbly. We are looking forward to another quality day at the Festival.”