The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s 134 hour non-stop live Hurtigruten broadcast (June 16-22) was also streamed live on the Internet. Reports show that viewers from 148 countries visited www.nrk.no/hurtigruten, directly or through embedded players.
Actually, 176 were registered, but this also includes countries that per definition come under another national state’s authority.

In total 3 million Norwegians dropped in and watched parts of the program during the 134 hour live broadcast on the national TV-channel NRK2, show figures from NRK and independent ratings. This represents almost three quarters of the country’s population and is record breaking ratings for NRK2. In addition 2.9 million watched the streamed voyage online, 44.5 % of these from outside Norway.

The list of top ten countries unsurprisingly shows Norway on top:

The impressive figures show an amazing interest in Hurtigruten voyages along the ragged Norwegian coastline and the global fascination for NRK’s innovative concept – slow-tv. The live broadcast initiated a national mobilization, celebrating the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes in the north, at every Hurtigruten port.

During the voyage Hurtigruten was the trending topic on Twitter, at one time with one tweet every six seconds. The show’s Facebook-site “Hurtigruten minute by minute” received 65,000 “likes” during the five and a half day voyage.

Hurtigruten, established in 1893, has been en-route ever since, and is an important part of the Norwegian infrastructure and one of Norway’s most known travel brands. The classic coastal route is known as the world’s most beautiful voyage and this was definitely what viewers all over the world got to see. All of Norway’s beauty was shown live on TV, Geirangerfjord and the western fjords of Norway, the crossing of the Arctic Circle, the Lofoten Islands, North Cape and the midnight sun. The broadcast resulted in all-time high visits on Hurtigruten’s websites around the world and all time high ratings for NRK2.

If you missed it, it’s still possible to experience the world’s most beautiful voyage and TV-programme on www.nrk.no/hurtigruten/.

Hurtigruten is a world leader in expedition cruising and is represented in Australia by Discover the World Marketing. For bookings and more information, contact Discover the World Marketing on 1800 OCEANS (1800 623 267) hurtigruten@discovertheworld.com.au