Germany: ZDF and ARD record the best TV audiences of 2016 with Euro 2016 and the Olympics

The public channel ZDF topped the TV audiences in Germany in 2016, with an average audience share of 13% on the year, according to data from specialised website Meedia.de on 02/01/2017. ZDF was ahead of ARD (Das Erste) in 2016, the latter German public TV channel posting an average audience share of 12.1%.

ARD and ZDF benefited from strong audiences, in Germany, for Euro 2016 and 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, of which the two groups shared almost all the broadcasting rights in Germany (excluding ProSiebenSat.1 which broadcast six games of Euro 2016). The average audience share of ZDF increased by 0.5% compared to 2015 (12.5%), but decreased compared to the year of the 2014 World Cup (13.3%). The figures of ARD did the same (11.6% in 2015), but also down compared to 2014 (12.5%).

The second semi-final of Euro 2016, Germany - France (0-2) at the Stade Vélodrome (Marseille), drew an average of 29.82 million viewers in Germany (about 37% of the German population) on the German, public channel ZDF, on Thursday, 07/07/2016 (kick-off at 21:00 CET). This was the best TV audience in…