At 10.42 on Saturday night, when the winner was about to be announced, an astounding 1,4 million Norwegians tuned in to NRK to find out who would represent the country in Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna in May.
The average number of viewers was 1,25 million, which is the highest since 2011. Since then the numbers have decreased steadily, and in the past two years lessthan a million people have watched the final of Melodi Grand Prix. Last year only 761.000 watched Carl Espen win the ticket to Copenhagen.
Project manager for MGP, Stian Malme, says that they are very happy with the numbers. He believes a wide range of musical genres and good communication with the viewers in the weeks leading up to the contest are among the reasons. Other factors may be the lack of semifinals and the return of the live orchestra.
According to Kristian Tolonen, head of analytics at NRK, the increase it most noticable among teenagers and also the age group 40-49. He sees this as a sign that Melodi Grand Prix is becoming a family show again.
Mørland & Debra Scarlett will defend the Norwegian colors in Vienna with tha song “A Monster Like Me”. Here you can watch their performance after their victory in Saturday’s final.
