29/09/2000 : Global TV viewing figures for the badminton event at the Sydney Games are reported by industry insiders to have smashed all records making it the most viewed badminton competition in history.

Journalists and TV commentators at the Games were already reporting that viewing figures for badminton had made it the most watched sport on worldwide TV during the first week of the Games and were expecting a figure of 2 billion viewers to have been achieved.

Official figures will not be available until mid October at the earliest when the continental TV authorities declare their figures and market research specialists SMS make their submissions to the IOC.

Badminton’s TV Director in Sydney, David Kenyan, had predicted that the badminton event would reach 1.75 billion viewers from the start of the Games but even this figures is expected to be surpassed by many. IBF Director of Marketing & Development, Andrew Ryan, said ‘badminton’s place at the beginning of the Sydney Olympic programme, before either tennis or athletics had started, gave us a boost, but the unprecedented demand for additional coverage by rights-holders from day one guaranteed the wide coverage. We are aware of extensive new coverage in Africa as well as in new countries in Pan-American such as Canada and in new European markets for badminton like Poland. When this is added to the traditional markets across Asia and, for example, in Denmark and the UK in Europe, we can be sure that the Olympics has been an unprecedented success for badminton’.

The high quality of production of the TV signal was achieved through the use of 11 camera position on the show court and innovative camera work and editing by the production crew delivering the best ever pictures of the sport worldwide.

Looking ahead to the Olympics in Athens 2004 it is clear that lessons have been learnt which are expected to lead to the continuous broadcast of badminton on at least one court from the start of play on day one. The TV demand for badminton was underestimated in Sydney leading to a great deal of stress on TV production staff. On one of the busiest broadcast days a cameraman even collapsed while filming. He later made a full recovery and was able to return to filming the following day.

For details, contact Karen McCall at the International Badminton Federation on 00 44 (0) 1242 23 49 04.