Calcutta Cup proves ratings hit for ITV Sport

ITV Sport celebrates ratings victory for Scotland’s Calcutta Cup win.

A peak of 8.7 million viewers watched Scotland clinch their first Calcutta Cup win against England at Twickenham since 1983 on ITV yesterday.

The audience was the highest for the Calcutta Cup for at least more than a decade – higher than records going back to 2010 – beating the peak of 8.6 million who watched last year’s clash.

ITV’s free to air coverage, also screened on STV in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland, was the second offering of eight matches throughout the six weeks of the tournament, with England v France, Ireland v France, England v Italy, Italy v Wales and what could be the title decider at the Aviva Stadium, where Ireland meet England on the final weekend.

The matches on the opening day of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations series was watched by an overall average of 6.4 million and 36 per cent of the available audience watching television yesterday afternoon.

The coverage was popular among young viewers with almost half of 16-34 viewers tuning in – an average of 46 per cent and one million, peaking with 1.3m and 56 per cent.

ITV’s coverage of the Guinness Six Nations continues on Saturday 13 February with England v Italy from 1.30pm.