A global reach of 5.2 million different viewers* watched Eurosport’s coverage of a thrilling Rally d’Italia-Sardegna, round five of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, last weekend (5-6 June).
Eurosport, Europe’s largest television sports channel, showed two stages live on Saturday morning and two stages as they happened on Sunday morning. It also transmitted a round-up programme of all the action on Tuesday evening.
The rally, which was won by Finn Juho Hanninen in a Skoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000, marked the first time the IRC had visited the picturesque Mediterranean island. The event was chosen for live coverage because of the spectacular countryside and breathtaking views.
In order to cover the two stages (Monte Grighine measured 28.66 kilometres, while Coiluna totalled 25.97 kilometres), Eurosport installed several stage-side cameras and also used a helicopter-mounted camera and several onboard cameras to provide the viewer with a complete picture of the dramatic action. Indeed, Eurosport’s helicopter was following Kris Meeke, the defending IRC champion, when he suffered the spectacular crash that put him out of the rally while he was fighting for the lead on Sunday. The accident was shown live.
Winning co-driver Mikko Markkula said: “Like always, the live coverage on Eurosport made a huge difference on this rally. It was a real good point.”