Royal success and Frankie Dettori farewell lift Royal Ascot viewing figures for ITV Racing

ITV Racing has said the success of Royal Ascot bodes well for the remaining big summer festivals after more than one million viewers tuned in for each of the five days.

Frankie Dettori's final appearance on Saturday attracted a peak audience of almost 1.3 million with an audience share of 14.8 per cent, the largest for the final day of the royal meeting since 2012.

"There was a lot of attention on potential disruption heading into the Derby," said ITV Racing editor Richard Willoughby. "This was just a good week with some fantastic stories. We've had plenty of those during the big festivals this year and it bodes well for the big meetings this summer, such as the July festival, Glorious Goodwood and Ebor festival."

Willoughby said Dettori was a major draw for audiences during the week. The jockey rode four winners, including his ninth Gold Cup aboard Courage Mon Ami for John and Thady Gosden.

That success on Thursday followed the victory of Desert Hero in the King George V Stakes, the first Royal Ascot winner for the King and Queen following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Frankie Dettori: won the Gold Cup at last week's meetingCredit: Alex Pantling

"Thursday was magical," said Willoughby. "Any royal winner on any weekend is magic, and the same is true when Frankie has a winner. To have both in one of our biggest weeks is a bonus. There were some great stories during the week and it was positive to have so many international runners. Having Michelle Payne and Ruby Walsh with us for the first time was great, too.

"We had a million people tuning in at some point during each afternoon and the King, royal family and Frankie Dettori were probably big reasons why they did."

ITV's audience share across the week matched last season's record-breaking average of almost 14 per cent, while there was record engagement with the broadcaster's social media channels.

"I thought we did a great job bringing the event to life," added Willoughby. "There was a bit of uncertainty going into it without the Queen but the royal procession proved really popular.

"Given that traditional TV coverage is facing challenges across all genres, it's really good to see the audience share in particular is bucking that trend and that the event resonates with our audience. We preach to a very broad church and that's always a challenge, making it work for the experienced fan and people who just want to tune in and watch all of the colour, and the pomp and ceremony."

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