In which year was the Grand National first televised?
The Grand National was first broadcast on radio, by the BBC, in 1927, but was not televised until 1960. That year, the 114th renewal of the famous steeplechase was broadcast live as part of the ‘Grandstand’ sports programme, anchored by David Coleman. Commentary on the Grand National was provided by Peter O’Sullevan,
Clive Graham and Peter Bromley and the race was won by the favourite, Merryman II, trained by and ridden by Gerry Scott, who won by 15 lengths and 12 lengths from Badenloch and Clear Profit. The inaugural broadcast marked the start of a period of 53 years uninterrupted television coverage of the Grand National by the BBC; the final broadcast, in 2012, attracted a peak audience of 10 million, on average, representing an audience share of 59%.