If it’s just about viewership, the previous winner of Summer Talks is already a certainty. This is FPO leader Herbert Kickl (FPO). He was able to woo a much larger audience in front of the TV screen than Vice Chancellor and Green leader Werner Kögler and NEOS boss Beate Meinl-Risinger.
On Monday evening, more than 848,000 viewers watched Kickal’s debate with ORF presenter Susanne Schnabel. On average, 715,000 people gathered in front of TV screens, which corresponds to a market share of 30 percent.
An average of 496,000 Austrians took part in Meinl-Reisinger. The lowest ratings were achieved by Werner Kögler on 14 August with only 424,000 viewers, down almost a third from the previous year. However, Coogler had a market share of 21 percent—two percentage points higher than NEOS Boss.
The four-part series was a repeat of Pregau when the competing program Kickal appeared on ORF 1. Kickal already achieved a market share of 30 percent last year, but with a significantly higher audience: an average of 843,000 people watched his ORF interview in the summer of 2022.
Two summer talks are still to come: Next Monday, new SPO boss Andreas Bubler will answer all questions, and a week later Chancellor and OVP boss Karl Nehmer.
