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F1 Talk Brings Huge Spike In City Council Viewership

Channel six saw a spike in viewership when F1 was discussed on Thursday.
Screen shot by Mose Buchele for KUT News.
Channel six saw a spike in viewership when F1 was discussed on Thursday.

Austinites will have to wait till next week to know the fate of a planned Formula One racetrack in Southeastern Travis County, but its not just Austinites paying attention.  People from around the world are voicing their opinions on the racetrack in online forums, op-eds and emails to City Hall. 

The debate is driving a lot more traffic to the City's TV station as well.

Channel Six, the station that broadcasts city meetings, normally attracts between 300 to 400 viewers to its websites during council meetings. But not on Thursday.

The City is reporting that over 4,000 viewers tuned in to watch the proceedings stream live online while council debated and ultimately put off a vote on the future of the track.

Here in the KUT newsroom we even noticed a delay in the broadcast feed. No word on whether that is connected to the heavier-than-usual web traffic.

Mose Buchele focuses on energy and environmental reporting at KUT. Got a tip? Email him at mbuchele@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mosebuchele.
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