Beijing heroes dictate viewing habits in the UK

THE Beijing Olympics dominated television viewing in 2008 but were narrowly edged out in terms of popularity by the mainstream sporting spectacles of the year.

Topping the ratings is the men's Wimbledon final with 23.5 million Brits tuning in to watch Rafael Nadal end Roger Federer's dominance at SW19.

Second with 21.3m viewers is the Champions League final which saw Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Chelsea do battle for 120 minutes before the Londoners lost out on penalties.

And third with 20.8m was Lewis Hamilton's tantalisingly close Formula One championship victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix as he overtook Timo Glock on the penultimate corner of the race to claim the win.

But the remainder of the viewing chart is a who's who of Beijing heroes with Usain Bolt's record-breaking performance in the 100m and the women's marathon the front runner with 19.6m.

Next on the list is the badminton, rowing and swimming finals that featured Rebecca Adlington's double gold and the Great Britain men's coxless fours picking up from where Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent left off which generated 18.3m viewers.

And boxing, canoeing and other athletics events were witnessed by 16.3m pairs of British eyes in living rooms up and down the country.