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BBC Glastonbury 2017 coverage pulls record audience

June 28, 2017

BBC’s Glastonbury 2017 coverage achieved record viewing figures on TV and Online. Almost 21 million people watched Glastonbury TV coverage for at least 3 minutes, an increase of 12 per cent on 2016.

BBC Two’s Sunday evening programme, which featured Ed Sheeran’s headline set, achieved a record high average audience for a Glastonbury programme of 2.9 million and a record 1 minute peak audience of 4.1 million viewers, replacing the previous record holder Jeff Lynne’s ELO from last year’s festival (2.4 million average). BBC Two’s 6pm programme with Barry Gibb’s Sunday teatime legends slot achieved a high average audience of 2.48 million (peak 1 minute 3.7 million); a record for the programme broadcasting the legends set. BBC Two and BBC Four’s Glastonbury at the BBC television shows were produced by BBC Studios.

BBC Two’s headline sets with Radiohead on Friday and the Foo Fighters on Saturday also performed strongly with average audiences of 811k (1 minute peak 1.32 million) and 1.6 million (1 minute peak 2.5 million) respectively, well above their slot averages.

On BBC Four, a surprise performance by Elbow on Friday evening had the biggest audience to Glastonbury content on the channel this year with an average audience of 784k/share 4.1 per cent and a 1 minute peak of 1.03m at 21:56. This was both up on timeslot average of 336k/1.4 per cent share, and exceeded the top performing Glastonbury BBC Four programme of 2016 which was ZZ Top/The Lumineers (631k/share 3.4 per cent). BBC Four achieved its highest reach ever for Glastonbury coverage with a record 5.7 million viewers watching for 3 minutes or more, an increase of 8 per cent year on year.

Online, fans could access Glastonbury performances on the BBC Glastonbury website and BBC iPlayer with over 100 performances across six stages streamed live. The BBC saw 4.5 million requests for live streams on BBC iPlayer and the BBC’s Glastonbury website throughout the weekend increased by 84 per cent compared to 2016 – with 3.5 million unique browsers to the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage online in the UK (up 23 per cent on 2016).

Bob Shennan, Director BBC Radio and Music says: “We’re delighted that this year’s Glastonbury festival has been enjoyed by a record number of people. BBC Music was able to bring audiences such an incredible range of genres from grime, reggae, rock and pop to memorable sets including Ed Sheeran, who made his Glastonbury debut only six years ago on the BBC Music Introducing Stage, and legendary artists Radiohead, The Foo Fighters and Barry Gibb. And all under a shining sun for a change!”

 

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