Channel 4's India vs England first day coverage watched by more than one million people

[ASFN Admin]

More than a million people watched the first day of the first Test match on terrestrial television since the 2005 Ashes. Telegraph Sport has been told Channel 4’s coverage of India v England on Friday attracted a peak audience of 1.1 million. The peak occurred at around 11.15am, shortly after Joe Root completed a century on his 100th Test appearance. Channel 4 secured the four-match India-England series at the 11th hour after Sky Sports and BT Sport refused to meet the asking price from rights holders Star Sports. It is the first full broadcast on terrestrial television of an England overseas Test series. Comment: Time was not on Channel 4's side but their strangely dated cricket coverage made you crave slick Sky analysis Friday’s figure is far below the 8.4 million who watched the 2005 Ashes and the 4.5 million who tuned into Channel 4’s coverage of England’s 2019 World Cup triumph. However, Telegraph Sport has been told the broadcaster is thrilled with the ratings given the India-England match began at 4am on a weekday. More follows.

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