Saturday and Sunday’s Finals in the Hula Hoops National Cup Finals in Basketball were seen by over 300,000 viewers on TG4.
Figures published yesterday reveal that 157,000 tuned in at some point to the Men’s final on Saturday where Templogue overcame UCD Marian while 152,000 caught the Women’s Final on Sunday, at an earlier time, between DCU Mercy and Glanmire.
The Women’s game may not have had the same dramatic conclusion but the average number of viewers tuned in at any one point to the action was slightly higher for the women at 20,000 as opposed to 17,000 for the men.
The National basketball Arena in Tallaght was packed and gave a great atmosphere on screen.
These viewing figures and the second year in a row of hosting a major European finals, in July in Cork for the Women’s senior team, will add lustre to a sport on the rise.
Writing in our preview of the Finals going into the weekend we wrote
“While major brands cluster around the big sports of Gaelic Games, Rugby and Soccer, this is a team sport which is poised on the cusp of a bigger place in the national consciousness and which should be on the appraisal list for any sponsorship consideration.”
These figures will add more fuel to that argument.
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