33 PER CENT OF VIEWERS TUNE IN TO BBC INTERACTIVE

Despite the recent hot spell, the nation has stayed indoors this summer as interactive television fever sweeps through living rooms across the country.
BARB figures indicate an astounding 4.5m unique viewers (33 per cent of the total digital satellite universe) tuned in to the BBC’s two summer interactive sporting events - Wimbledon and The Open.
On the first day of the Wimbledon Championships, one million digital satellite viewers accessed the service. A daily average of 0.9 million viewers watched live Wimbledon Interactive coverage on the BBC resulting in a cumulative total of 4.2 million viewers over the course of the two week tournament. This amounts to two-thirds of viewers who accessed the Wimbledon interactive service in digital satellite during the first week.
The Open Interactive was a similar success with around 50 per cent of those tuning in to digital satellite coverage of The Open using the service. A total of 1.2 million individual viewers accessed The Open Interactive over the four-day event, with around half a million digital satellite viewers tuning in each day.
Scott Gronmark, BBC Head of Interactive Television, said: “The interactive services we have offered this summer are clearly being enjoyed by viewers as an extension to the BBC’s usual comprehensive sports coverage. These viewing figures relate to services on just one of the three digital platforms we offer and are very encouraging for the success of further interactive services we will be rolling-out in the near future.”
The specification and design of the technical infrastructure for both the Wimbledon and The Open Golf championships was managed by BBC Technology. BBC Technology also provided the five channel automated playout area, video and audio compression, statistical multiplexing and the insertion of application and data. (CD)