According to a release by the International Triathlon Union (ITU), more people competed in and watched the 2011 Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series (now rebranded as the ITU World Triathlon Series) worldwide than ever before, as the popularity of the world’s premier triathlon series continues to expand at a rapid rate.
In 2011 the series started in Sydney, then moved on to Madrid, Kitzbühel, Hamburg, London, Lausanne, the Beijing Grand Final, before gaining an early start for next year with 2012 points on offer in Yokohama.
Looking beyond the thrilling racing that took place last year, there are statistics to show that the Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series took some significant steps forward.
TV Eye
TV broadcast time increased from 556 hours in 2010 to 917 hours in 2011. Amateur athletes competing at the series events increased from 21,280 in 2010 to 27,569 in 2011; and all series events combined generated almost 1.4 million spectator contacts, approaching double the 2010 figure.
The series was entirely covered live by 17 broadcast partners. The live broadcast plus the ten 52 minute magazine shows were distributed to 42 TV partners who broadcasted into more than 160 countries and a news feed was also immediately distributed worldwide post race.
Web boost
For 2010 a new website design was launched and this generated 3.8 million page impressions from January to November. In 2011 it was 5.3 million page impressions within the same timeframe. Significantly, the www.triathlonlive.tv web page gathered an extra 700,000 page impressions in 2011, up from just over 300,000 to reach 1.05 million overall last year.
Dextro Energy Triathlon Hamburg
The series event in Hamburg was established 10 years ago and ITU notes that the interest of spectators and media continues to grow. 1331 articles about the event were published with a circulation of 36.38 million – more than 254 articles than in 2010 where the overall circulation was estimated at 30 million. Out of the individual series race websites, Hamburg also received the most hits – with over 1 million page impressions.
Broadcast gains
Overall, broadcasting time was up 53%. According to ITU, the TV audience increased by 98 million worldwide and there was 2.69 billion more FASPO (sponsorship accredited) contacts.
What was also significant was growth in individual countries, in particular growing triathlon hotspots such as Russia, which was up 103%, Singapore up 33% and Hong Kong up 20 hours. There was also substantial growth in the total broadcast time in traditional triathlon nations: Australia was up 45%, New Zealand rose 38%, the United Kingdom +52% and the USA surged by a huge 82%. These TV figures include live coverage, including news and highlights.
The return of the ITU World Championship Series (WCS) to San Diego in 2012 could see a further boost in US TV spectator numbers, in what remains the world’s largest triathlon market. As the birthplace of triathlon, San Diego will welcome the world’s top triathletes as one of eight stops on the 2012 ITU World Championship Series.
Meanwhile, the London ITU World Triathlon Series event, which in 2011 was the first and last time athletes could race the official Olympic course, attracted an extra 54 million viewers – up from 12 million to 64 million.
As the eyes of the world focus on the 2012 London Olympics, and heightened media attention spotlights the Hyde Park showdown, the popularity of triathlon continues to be going for gold!
2011 ITU WCS fast facts
Total TV hours: 917
Total website hits: 5.3million
Total age-group participants: 27,569
