First blood: A tense moment during the Germany-Costa Rica match (AFP)

Cup-crazy Calcutta is glued to the television. Just how much has been revealed by the latest ratings from Television Audience Measurement (TAM).

For the Germany-Costa Rica Cup opener, Calcutta has thrown up a staggering television rating point of 21.99 among males aged 15 and above. That?s more than five times the viewership of Calcutta?s closest competitor Mumbai and over 20 times of the farthest, Chennai.

?We are absolutely delighted about the Calcutta World Cup ratings and how the tempo has built up right from the start,? said R.C. Venkateish, managing director of ESPN Software India.

Nationally, if Day I of the 2002 edition, beamed on Ten Sports, had garnered ratings of less than one nationally, the inaugural match of World Cup 2006 saw ratings of 3.43.

Despite the strong showing on the TRP charts from Calcutta and the rest of Bengal, not all viewers have been able to tune in to the soccer action. Particularly those serviced by free-to-air cable television networks.

?ESPN STAR Sports is flouting Trai guidelines by not providing us with its signal,? said Paresh Nath Mandal, secretary of West Bengal Cable TV Operators? Welfare Association, which represents ?30 to 35? free-to-air networks in Calcutta and the districts. The association claimed to cover ?50,000 to 60,000? subscribers in Calcutta.

Adding to the drama of Cup and cable, police are carrying out raids and arrests to check piracy of the ESPN STAR Sports beam in the wake of a Delhi High Court order.

After such a bright start, where can the Calcutta viewership figures finish by the final whistle on July 9? ?The finals could deliver ratings of 50 in the city. And if Brazil makes it, maybe even 60,? felt Venkateish.