The BRIT Awards Score Highest TV Ratings Since 2005
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Written by Jon Stickler
Last night’s BRIT Awards got the evening’s biggest TV share with a peak viewing figure of 7.4m, making it the most watched BRIT Awards since 2005. More than a million extra people tuned in than last year to watch music’s most prestigious ceremony, which was broadcast live on ITV1 from The O2 Arena. The evening included more live music than ever before with nine performances. Both Ed Sheeran and Adele enjoyed multiple awards with Adele picking up the most coveted trophy of the night – the MasterCard British Album of the Year.
It was an emotional return for Adele, with it being her first performance on British soil since her throat operation last year. Since its release in January 2011, Adele’s award winning ‘21’ has gone on to sell over fifteen million copies worldwide.
The Awards averaged an audience share of 25.27% making it the most watched show on TV last night, with a viewing figure average of 6.2m. Traditionally, ITV shows in the same broadcast slot average an audience of 3.11m; last night’s show beat CH4’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’s ratings substantially.
Viewing figures were also higher than that of this year’s BAFTA ceremony, which averaged 5.3m viewers earlier this month.
Hosted by James Corden for the second year in a row, the Awards saw performances from Coldplay, Bruno Mars, Rihanna, Florence + The Machine, Olly Murs (featuring Rizzle Kicks), Noel Gallagher, Ed Sheeran and Adele. The evening was then taken to a finale with a show-stopping performance from the Outstanding Contribution to Music recipients Blur that had the entire O2 Arena on their feet.
The BRIT Awards winners in full:
BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST
Ed Sheeran
Presented by Plan B
BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST
Adele
Presented by Kylie
BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT
(Top five selected by Academy. Category promoted by BBC Radio 1)
Ed Sheeran
Presented by Rupert Grint & Nicole Scherzinger
BRITISH GROUP
(Top five selected by Academy. Category promoted by BBC Radio 2)
Coldplay
Presented by Jo Whiley & Huey Morgan
BRITISH SINGLE
(Top ten British singles based on commercial radio airplay and sales in the calendar year are automatically nominated. Promoted by Capital FM and iTunes, listeners and users voted for their favourite single of the year.)
One Direction – What Makes You Beautiful
Presented by Tinie Tempah
MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR (promoted by ITV’s Daybreak and The Sun Bizarre column)
Adele – 21
Presented by George Michael
INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST
Bruno Mars
Presented by Jessie J & Jack Whitehall
INTERNATIONAL FEMALE
Rihanna
Presented by Jenson Button
INTERNATIONAL GROUP
Foo Fighters
Presented by Brian May and Roger Taylor
INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT
Lana Del Rey
Presented by will.i.am & Cesc Fabregas
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC AWARD
Blur
Presented by Ray Winstone
NOT PRESENTED DURING THE SHOW:
CRITICS' CHOICE (In association with War Child)
Emeli Sandé
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