Singapore – Hosting the first ever F1 night race has boosted Singapore’s appetite for the sport on TV. According to an ongoing study, ratings for the 2008 F1 season live races on ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) are much higher than last year. The highest increase in the television ratings for F1 live races came from men in the 35-44 age group, where it increased by 127 percent. The sport continues to be popular among the younger age group of men as well and showed a higher trend of approximately 20 percent. There were also bolstered TV ratings for female viewership for live races, which showed a very positive and robust upward trend of 26 percent for women aged 15 and above. In addition, Singaporeans spent 25 percent more time watching all F1 related programs last year on STAR Sports and ESPN, as compared to 2006 and the interest levels appear to have gone beyond just the live races this year so far, with STAR Sports’ Race Day and Chequered Flag pre and post-race shows receiving bolstered TV ratings by 22 percent among all F1 viewers.