Ratings high for ‘slow chess TV’
November 12, 2013
As Norway’s chess hero Magnus Carlsen played his way to yet another remis (draw) on Tuesday, lots of Norwegians remained glued to their televisions. State broadcaster NRK’s decision to televise all the world championship matches live has led to ratings almost as impressive as Carlsen’s own.
Fully 700,000 viewers tuned in when NRK started up its live broadcasts during the weekend, reported media website Kampanje. Even though the games going on in Chennai, India begin mid-morning in Norway (10:30am local time), NRK is claiming strong viewership in a country of just 5 million people.
Around 194,000 viewers were watching on Sunday, giving NRK a 42 percent share of the market. The games are anchored in Oslo by a sports journalist with expert commentary and graphics that attempt to explain the intricacies of chess to a broad audience.
NRK’s unusual live coverage of every chess game during the World Chess Championships in Chennai is winning unusually high ratings.
On Tuesday, as chess fever continued to grip the country, viewers were even sending messages on social media that they were cutting classes at school to watch, or avoiding work to follow Carlsen’s progress. And the ultimate “slow TV,” marked by long stretches where Carlsen and defending world champion Vishy Anand are simply staring at the chess board, was even described as “incredibly exciting” and “full of suspense.”
VGTV, produced by newspaper VG’s media house, is also experiencing strong viewership and heavy traffic. Around 90,0oo viewers followed VG’s coverage on Saturday and another 75,000 on Sunday, while clips from the world championship have been viewed more than 420,000 times, reports Kampanje.
Much of the interest is simply tied to Carlsen himself, who’s finally getting the widespread recognition accorded Norway’s skiing or football stars. The 22-year-old chess wonder who grew up just outside Oslo seems to take it all in customary stride, though, showing little sign of being overwhelmed by all the hype around him.
Full article here: http://www.newsinenglish.no
Expected.
This is great for chess in Norway. How many viewers are there in India ?