826 for Newcastle v Chelsea? That is quite an impressive figure.

Newcastle have a very loyal fan base

Also Chelsea losing would have gained alot of viewers as well !!!

Bear in mind it is a peak: the average will be quite a lot lower.

absolutely matey but even so that's quite a figure for a lunchtime game with even the average looking to be something around 500, BT will be delighted with that.

BT are adding subscribers and have a reported 2m BT Sport subscribers/Have it free with BB, so the numbers will go up.

It's a bit of a shame that judging by the ratings Sunday Night Football doesn't get that many viewers - it's a great watch.

Official ratings now out confirm Crystal Palace v Arsenal on the free weekend was BT's highest rated PL match so far by a substantial margin. Official rating is 611,000 - fractionally lower than the overnight figure of 617,700 previously posted.

Updated list and comparison to the same period last season:

BT Sport:
Liverpool v Stoke - 451,000
Fulham v Arsenal - 413,000
Man City v Hull - 302,000
Man Utd v Crystal Palace - 480,000
Norwich v Aston Villa - 281,000
Spurs v Chelsea - 443,000
Man City v Everton - 377,000
Newcastle v Liverpool - 496,000
Crystal Palace v Arsenal - 611,000
Average - 428,000

ESPN:
Newcastle v Spurs - 420,000
Chelsea v Newcastle - 450,000
Man City v QPR - 296,000
Sunderland v Liverpool - 504,000
(Round 5 - No game)
Man Utd v Spurs - 551,000
West Ham v Arsenal - 477,000
Norwich v Arsenal - 409,000
Man City v Swansea - 354,000
Average - 433,000

The Crystal Palace v Arsenal rating obviously pushes up BT's average by a fair bit and this, coupled with the low rating for ESPN's Man City game pushing ESPN's average down, is enough to bring the averages now very close together.

Reach and share ratings update:

BT Sport 1:
w/e 18/08/13 - 1,911,000 (0:03)
w/e 25/08/13 - 1,740,000 (0:03)
w/e 01/09/13 - 1,625,000 (0:03)
w/e 08/09/13 - 1,401,000 (0:03)
w/e 15/09/13 - 2,037,000 (0:04)
w/e 22/09/13 - 1,657,000 (0:03)
w/e 29/09/13 - 1,914,000 (0:04)
w/e 06/10/13 - 1,877,000 (0:03)
w/e 13/10/13 - 1,370,000 (0:01)
w/e 20/10/13 - 2,052,000 (0:04)
w/e 27/10/13 - 3.078,000 (0:05)

BT Sport 2:
w/e 18/08/13 - 923,000 (0:01)
w/e 25/08/13 - 780,000 (0:01)
w/e 01/09/13 - 764,000 (0:01)
w/e 08/09/13 - 994,000 (0:01)
w/e 15/09/13 - 1,031,000 (0:01)
w/e 22/09/13 - 761,000 (0:01)
w/e 29/09/13 - 758,000 (0:01)
w/e 06/10/13 - 699,000 (0:00)
w/e 13/10/13 - 726,000 (0:01)
w/e 20/10/13 - 690,000 (0:01)
w/e 27/10/13 - 963,000 (0:01)

ESPN:
w/e 18/08/13 - 502,000 (0:00)
w/e 25/08/13 - 449,000 (0:00)
w/e 01/09/13 - 408,000 (0:01)
w/e 08/09/13 - 383,000 (0:00)
w/e 15/09/13 - 399,000 (0:01)
w/e 22/09/13 - 442,000 (0:00)
w/e 29/09/13 - 386,000 (0:00)
w/e 06/10/13 - 355,000 (0:00)
w/e 13/10/13 - 348,000 (0:00)
w/e 20/10/13 - 480,000 (0:01)
w/e 27/10/13 - 575,000 (0:01)

So the free weekend has a massive impact on reach - BTS1's reach is up 50% compared to the previous week (which itself was the highest up to that point).

However BTS1's average share only rises from 4 minutes to 5 minutes probably suggesting that the additional viewers didn't on average watch for so long (though we can't be 100% sure because of the rounding - ie in theory share could have gone from 3.51 mins to 5.49 mins though that is obviously unlikely).

BTS2 and ESPN also see increases in reach though not to such a great extent and their average shares both remain unchanged at 1 minute (again we must be conscious of rounding).

Top 10s show a picture in line with the above - the free weekend generally resulting in higher ratings across the board.

In particular the Aviva Premiership gets a further strong boost on top of the previous excellent figures it was already getting - two AP games get over 200,000.

BT Sport 1:
1 BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE (SAT 1130) 611
2 AVIVA PREMIERSHIP RUGBY (SAT 1508) 217
3 AVIVA PREMIERSHIP RUGBY (SUN 1300) 204
4 AVIVA PREMIERSHIP RUGBY (FRI 1900) 133
5 FRENCH LIGUE 1 (SUN 1950) 59
6 SERIE A (SAT 1936) 54
7 RUGBY TONIGHT (WED 2000) 51
8 BUNDESLIGA (SAT 1723) 49
9 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE (THU 1956) 45
10 BUNDESLIGA (SUN 1615) 43

BT Sport 2:
1 SCOTTISH PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (FRI 1915) 43
2 FA CUP (SUN 1344) 36
3 UFC (SAT 1930) 32
4 SERIE A (SUN 1127) 22
5 UFC (SUN 2200) 21
6 WTA - TEB BNP PARIBAS (SAT 1452) 20
7 UFC - THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER - SERIES 18 (THU 2300) 14
8 BTSI - LAST WEEK THIS WEEK (FRI 2115) 13
9 1-BT SPORTS PANEL (SAT 1736) 11
10 HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE (SAT 0945) 11

ESPN:
1 SERIE A (SUN 1358) 30
2 FRENCH LIGUE 1 (SUN 1557) 20
3 COLLEGE FOOTBALL (SAT 1048) 18
4 ESPN CLASSIC BOXING (THU 2246) 16
5 ESPN KICKS (SUN 1802) 15
6 COLLEGE FOOTBALL (SAT 2352) 12
7 COLLEGE FOOTBALL (SAT 1700) 11
8 ESPN ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARIES (FRI 2129) 11
9 COLLEGE FOOTBALL (SAT 2031) 11
10 MLB POSTSEASON (SUN 1815) 10

MLB World Series Games 3 + 4 live those weekends. Rpt of Game 3 10k on the Sunday - the live games must be under 10k? Just wonder if they will continue with MLB (indeed if ESPN is going to be just run down with a renaming to BT Sport 3 soon as possible)?

Viewing figures at 1am in the morning are always going to be miniscule, if they don't continue with MLB coverage however they are going to have an awful lot of nothing to show during the summer months

The World Series was shown live on BT Sport 1, so under 43k.

Just wanted to add a line about my increasing sense of frustration at there being no highlights offered of European games on Monday and Tuesday.

There was a link to a Guardian article that said they felt it was better not to show constant repeats of weekend games because it devalued the channel in people's opinion. But the way I see it, it forces me to start making chocies about games I will end up missing. To give an example:

Sunday evening

19.45 Torino-Roma
20.00 Lille-Monaco
20.00 Malaga-Real Betis

If none of those games are shown on repeat I need to forgo one...but which one?

The way I see it - without the repeats I most likely skip one of the BT Sport games and their advertisers then aren't getting value for money. Even if I watch the adverts on fast forward I'm still watching them and their constant repitition means that at some level they are sinking in.

Previously on ESPN and before them Setanta there were always plenty of repeats.

yeh during the day on weekdays there is nothing wrong with repeating a few games, especially before midday!

also SNF is best show on the channel, i think the sunday match gets big ratings but the actual show perhaps not which is a shame, hopefully they keep it going for the loyal fans though.

Exactly how I feel. Sad to see SNF isn't in the top 10 because it's excellent. Some bits don't really work (combined European table from last weekend for example, but they even admitted on air it was a bit rubbish), but the panel seem to get on well with each other, and James Richardson is as usual a great presenter.

i thought the combined table was a great idea, james mentioned the games played thing so it made a smuch as sense as any table with games in hand would.

all 3 pundits are great, james has huge knowledge about italian football and links it well to current events, julians is a cool dude and bvrings such enthriasum and then rapheal is a more serious straight to the point kinda guy and it works really well.

JR is just hilarious and the best presenter around, i hope he helms this show for decades!

I don't think the current format works, to be honest. They've got three of the four major continental leagues - Spain obviously excepted - but in reality they are playing with, at best, 2 on which to build the show around. With no Bundesliga match of a Sunday night, they've got Italy and France to choose from, so Honigstein is under-utilised. As the French game is rarely more of a draw than the Italian, they've really only got 1.5 leagues to build around. It's Sunday Night Italian Football, as far as I'm concerned.

Personally, as a huge fan of European football, I'd push the show to a Monday night and build it around extensive match highlights for a more equitable approach. Basically, it'd be a hybrid of the fantastic highlights show they had earlier in the season and the current studio panel approach. So, you'd have, say, match highlights from six of the main matches of the weekend - 10 minutes or so each - panel discussion between these, and a quickfire goals round-up of the other games. None of this talking over the action nonsense that goes on at the moment - and no embarrassing "comedy" interludes where a panel member writes an ode to Zlatan.

I love James Richardson - he's the perfect combination of erudition and wit and he treats the game with seriousness and irreverence - a great mix. He's the thinking man's thinking man. However, I find the panel a bit self-satisfied at times. It's pretty much a journalistic clique - indeed, you'll find almost the same faces on any Guardian football podcast. It's all a bit incestuous for me and veers uncomfortably between smug laddishness and niche interest nerdishness.

I think these guys could offer more insight and perspective a day or two after the games have been played. It could be a very tight show, indeed, but at the moment I actually think I prefer the "Global Goals" strand of BTSi which just shows all the weekend goals to a cheesy musical soundtrack - no comment needed. And all done in 20 minutes.

Archie.

Just to add that while I like the current panel, I think the analysis on ESPN Press Pass last season was better. Marcotti seems a heavyweight in comparison to, say, James Horncastle, who is likable but just seems happy to be there. Honigstein also seemed to take a far more serious approach on ESPN than he currently does. Yes, you had the nonsense from the likes of Tommy Smyth, but even Smyth was prepared to say it as he saw it when the mood took, and he worked as a good troll.

Take Richardson out of the current panel, and I don't think BT Sport compares at all well with ESPN Press Pass last season. As I said, even the BT Honigstein seems underused and less serious.

Just some personal and subjective observations. James, alone, is keeping the show afloat as far as I'm concerned.

Archie.

I don't know if that's really Honigstein's fault though, I'd put it more down to BT's well-publicised aim of appearing "more laid back" in their coverage and in a way less serious. I can't really compare it to Press Pass as I didn't subscribe to ESPN, but I do enjoy the current discussion - all of the panel members seem to have something to offer. It's one of the only programmes on the channel I actively look forward to each time it's on rather than just watch when I'm flicking through the channels. I'd prefer more discussion and less of the poetry segments etc, but I'm hopeful that's something they'll fine tune over time.

Oh, I'm not blaming Honigstein at all - I imagine him to be quite frustrated having to play second or third fiddle to the likes of Julien Laurens who at least gets a live French game every month or so.

I think BT Sport let something slip in the Guardian interview last week when one of their suits made a disparaging remark about repeats of French football. I thought it was illuminating that he would look at it in the way he did, because with the greatest respect to him (and taking account of the context of the remark), I'm really not sure that Sky take the same view regarding repeats of Spanish football - something they are happy to provide (which is great for the busy fan who wants to catch up). I thought he was disrespectful towards the rights he did have just because he didn't have enough "top rank" rights to put on instead.

Let's face it, you can have whatever rights you want, but ANYTHING repeated at 11AM of a Monday or a Tuesday is going to have a small audience. The comment was particularly ironic in the context of BT showing edited repeats of Sunday Night Football on a Monday night instead of a value-add European Football Show which they have now dumped, presumably because it was too time consuming to edit the matches. If he wants to provide value and give a good impression, get the current SNF panel to provide perspective on a Monday night show that finds a happy medium between action and analysis.

For those hoping SNF continues for years (me included), it's quite obvious this will be dumped as soon as something more Britain-centric can be found to make more money. Our best hope is that with two broadcasters, space can be found to house these leagues - even as the daytime filler than the BT suit seemed to think unbecoming.

Archie.

press pass? shaka hislop????????????? robbie earle? am i thinking of the same show you guys are? hope not.

if you are reading BT, keep it as is! i like the laid back approach and also like that its on sunday nights, weekend if when everyone is in full on football mode,not monday when they have already seen all results and match reports online.

also it would clash with MNF most weeks(unless you want it on 10pm in which case alot of viewers would record it and not see europeon action till a Tuesday after work!), not to mention that the show build up the live match of the week well and should make it one of the most watched matches of the week for bt

a move from sunday is a big no no in my book.

also as i have stated in previous posts i dont find honigstein redundant at all, the show would be lacking without bundesliga round up to kick off the recaps.

Press Pass has its share of morons - unquestionably - but it also had Marcotti, Honigstein, and Sid Lowe. Is Julien Laurens really more incisive than Philippe Auclair or is he just prettier?

The point I'm making is, Press Pass isn't afraid of the bold pronouncement or controversy. That's probably because it is removed from the immediate fray by being in the US, so it has no need to cosy up to the British game in the way the UK channels sadly do. Whatever about is merits or otherwise, I found it far less dependent on its presenter than the current SNF show is on James Richardson.

If James wasn't presenting SNF, I honestly don't think I'd watch it. Ooh, that's quite how homoerotic, isn't it?

Archie.

James Richardson is presenting it for a reason, he pulls in viewers,always have,hes has a cult following now because hes so funny.

it would be silly to have him as presenter and ignore that

as for Julian,you seem like you have an issue with him, like i said i find him enthusiastic and more of a regular guy in the pub style football chat, which is a good thing sometimes as we don't need 3 by the book pundits.

p.s SNF hardly ever talks about the EPL other than including it in euro stats which we al want anyway, its a very educating show for even the biggest euro fans.

p.s.s the reenactment of ibras goal was fun...fun is good!

slightly off topic, but prepare to hear news on champions league rights in next few days - ssn has been prepped to expect news shortly (I don't know exact details!!)

hopefully same deal renewed

SKY provide EXCELLENT coverage and its good to have one FTA game.

it would be dissapointing if BT got in on the act as then sky wouldnt be able to provide same red button coverage.