ITV Racing’s Ed Chamberlin: Earlier start time leads to drop in Grand National viewing figures

Chamberlin led the ITV Racing team across the three-day meeting. He stated that the drop in viewership from 7.5m to 6.1m for the National was expected. The race was run an hour and a quarter earlier at 4pm on Saturday, which contributed to the decline in numbers. Chamberlin likened the decrease to a “par on a difficult hole like the 11th,” considering the challenges faced this year and the new race time.

He acknowledged that fewer people are likely to watch TV on a Saturday afternoon at 4pm compared to the early evening.