Must be, why else would Corporations pour millions of pounds sponsering it and the world's top sailors really want to compete in it. Millions of TV viewers watch it, it gathers huge amounts of press coverage every day and it is some of the most demanding and exhilarating sailing to be had.
Brian, I recall that when I was in Oz, some 20+ years ago, that the Sydney-Hobart attracted live television coverage for something like 6 hours or so, is that still the same situation today?
But (rightly or wrongly) certainly not in the UK. There are a few scrappy hyped up bits on digital (Eurosport - yuk!) if you have it.
I recall a previous Whitbread race at the conclusion in the Solent. Sailors in a class which I won't name had finished their racing for the day and were told that a famous competitor was on the way through at high speed etc. to finish the great race. Did anyone want to come out in a launch and see her? No one was interested and the launch never left.
This is true: I was there.