28.6m watched on linear TV

commonwealth games

The BBC has revealed that the Commonwealth Games were streamed a record 57.1 million times over the 11-day event. 

This was over six times the amount of streams seen in previous years, with a total of 9m for the 2018 Games and 8.2m for the Glasgow 2014 Games. This more than made up for the drop in linear audiences from 2014, with 28.6m tuning in this time compared to 35.3m for the Glasgow event. It was far more than the 22.8m who watched the 2018 Games.

The highest peak on linear was being 6.6m ahead of the men and women’s 100m backstroke and breaststroke finals on day three, followed by the Opening Ceremony, which had a five minute peak of 5.2m viewers.

A peak of 5.1m watched the result of the women’s 4x400m relay final, 4.8m tuned into the Closing Ceremony, the men’s 200m final saw 4.2m viewers and 4.1m watched Adam Peaty take gold at the men’s 50m Breaststroke final.

In addition, 14.3 million came to the BBC Sport website for the latest news and analysis and highlights were viewed 10.7m times.

Barbara Slater, director of BBC Sport, says: “All corners of the BBC have been right at the heart of the action in Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games and we are proud to have brought the best of the live action and medal moments to our audiences. In what has been an already unforgettable summer of sport, we are thrilled to achieve a record-breaking Games and to further showcase Birmingham as a dynamic, exciting city with a truly rich heritage.”