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2023 Hakone Ekiden TV Broadcast Viewership Hits Peak Rating of 35.0%

A New Year tradition, the Nippon TV live broadcast of the 99th Hakone Ekiden earned an average viewership rating of 27.5% for the Day One broadcast from 7:50 a.m. to 2:05 p.m. on Jan. 2, and 29.6% for the Day Two broadcast from 7:50 a.m. to 2:18 p.m. on Jan. 3, an overall average of 28.6% according to data analyzed by Video Research, Inc. 

Last year's broadcast earned an average rating of 26.2% for Day One, 28.4% for Day Two, and 27.3% overall. Two years ago at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic when fans were asked not to come watch the race along its course, Day One earned ratings of 31.0%, Day Two of 33.7%, and the overall broadcast 32.3%, record highs in all three categories since the Nippon TV broadcast began in 1987.

Peak viewership on Day One this year was 31.9% at 9:04 a.m. when the race's first exchange was happening, and on Day Two 35.0% at 1:24 p.m. when Komazawa University anchor Hibiki Aogaki brought the team home to win the Hakone Ekiden for the 8th time. Together with its wins at this season's Izumo Ekiden in October and National University Ekiden in November, Komazawa became only the 5th school in history to win all three major university ekidens in a single season. With the fastest times for both the Day One and Day Two segments, it also achieved a perfect win.

The winningest school in Hakone's 99-year history with 14 overall victories, Chuo University finished 2nd. It was Chuo's first top-3 placing at Hakone since it took 3rd in 2001 and best performance since its 1996 win. Last year's Hakone champion Aoyama Gakuin University was 3rd.

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translated and edited by Brett Larner

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