SCOTLAND’S failure to reach the World Cup finals has not dampened the country’s enthusiasm for the competition: in fact, according to figures released today by STV, Scots are usually tuning into matches broadcast on channel 3 in bigger numbers than their English counterparts.
With the exception of the two England games broadcast on ITV – versus USA and Algeria – Scotland has out-watched England across every match in the tournament.
The average viewing share per match has been 40 per cent, one per cent up on across the UK as a whole. For men in particular, the figure rises to an average 52 per cent, five points up on the UK average.
So far, the biggest audiences in Scotland have been over one million for the England versus USA match and the England versus Algeria one – closely followed by the Germany versus Australia match, which peaked with around 950,000 viewers in Scotland (a 56 per cent share), and the Brazil versus South Korea match, which peaked with 871,000 viewers in Scotland (a 63 per cent share).
