Sharp drop in ratings for the first night of the Sanremo Festival.
The average viewership for the opening night was 9.6 million, or 58% share. Last year, the Festival's first night averaged 12.63 million viewers, or 65.3%.
The first part, airing from 9:42 PM to 11:34 PM, was watched by 12,771,000 viewers with a 57.5% share, while the second part, from 11:38 PM to 1:32 AM, attracted 5,866,000 viewers with a 58.2% share. The peak in absolute numbers was at 9:59 PM: Pausini and Conti dismissed Gianna Pratesi and announced Paradiso in front of 15,384,000 viewers. The peak in share was at 1:18 AM during the performance of Lda and Aka7even, with a 63.84% share.
Conti actually says he's not very surprised, but rather positively surprised: "I was expecting a little less, I thought it would be 55%, but when I saw 58%, I was very happy. I thought it would be a bigger decline due to the counter-programming, the timing, the matches. The fact that we're still at this level, that it's still so high, makes me happy: it's true, I haven't beaten myself, but the festival is in good health. I've always done better, even in my previous three years," he explains, "but it's difficult to compare one year with another. I wasn't over the moon last year, entering the arena 10 centimeters off the ground due to record ratings, but this year I have the same serenity, the joy of having created a good product that has captivated almost 10 million Italians ."
The second evening's lineup
Joining Carlo Conti and Laura Pausini tonight are Pilar Fogliati, Achille Lauro, and Lillo. Fifteen of the top artists competing will perform, judged by the public via televoting (50%) and the radio judging panel (50%). At the end of the voting, a ranking is drawn up, with the top five announced at the end, in no particular order.
Also on stage are the four songs competing among the Newcomers, divided into two pairs competing directly: Filippucci with Blind, El Ma & Soniko; and Mazzariello with Angelica Bove. The songs are voted on by the public through televoting (34%), the TV and Web Press Room Jury (33%), and the Radio Jury (33%).
The two most voted songs advance to the third evening. Gianluca Gazzoli, former host of Sanremo Giovani, joins Conti during the youth competition . On stage, in a virtual relay with the Milan Cortina Games, are champions Arianna Fontana, Francesca Lollobrigida, and Lisa Vittozzi, and Paralympic champions Giacomo Bertagnolli, guided by Andrea Ravelli and Giuliana Turra.
The choir of the La Spezia delegation of ANFFAS, the national association of families and people with intellectual disabilities, is also expected at the Ariston. Bresh will perform live from the stage in Piazza Colombo.
Here is the list of the 15 singers performing tonight, in alphabetical order:
Rag Dolls - Stay with Me
Chiello - I always think of you
Dargen D'Amico - AI AI
Finger in the wound - What a nuisance
Elettra Lamborghini - Voil
Enrico Nigiotti - Every Time I Don't Know How to Fly
Ermal Meta - Little Star
Fedez & Masini - Necessary Evil
Fulminacci - Stupid Bad Luck
J-Ax - Italy Starter Pack
LDA and AKA7even - Clandestine poems
Levante - It's you
Nayt - Before that
Patty Pravo - Opera
Tommaso Paradiso - The Romantics