A viewership of over 37 million watched the BKT United Rugby Championship during the 2022/23 season, a rise of eight percent on the previous season.
The figure includes five rounds where the audience was over 2 million and 12 rounds where the audience climbed beyond 1.5 million.
In addition, five of the top 10 most-viewed games of the regular season saw audiences rise above half a million with DHL Stormers v Munster from Round 17 closing in on almost 700,000 viewers.
The BKT URC Play-Offs had over 4 million viewers with Leinster and Munster’s meeting in the Semi-Finals drawing 856,599 viewers to set the highest average audience of the entire season.
The Grand Final itself between DHL Stormers and Munster also recorded a higher peak audience with over 1 million watching.
The figures are cumulative across each of the countries where the games were broadcast free-to-air and also include streams from the URC.TV product.
“It has been a record-setting year for the BKT URC in terms of attendance and now to set a new bar for TV audiences is a testament to new levels of interest that surround our league,” said CEO Martin Anayi.
“We’ve worked hard to establish the BKT URC as the rising force in the rugby industry.”
“Having recently broken beyond 1 million social media followers we can see that fans are responding to what we have created by going to stadiums, watching at home and engaging through their favourite digital media platforms.”
“On the pitch, we have seen the new format deliver more jeopardy and surprise results. The mix of playing styles and cultures within the league is providing an appeal that is very unique in rugby. This type of growth in audiences and attendance does not happen without our broadcast partners and teams playing their part and they all deserve great credit for this achievement.”
The BKT United Rugby Championship Season in Numbers
Total Season Audience: 37.4million (+8%)
Season Average: 247,682 per game
Regular season total: 33.3million (+8%)
Regular Season Average: 231,250 per game
Total Play-Off Audience: 4.02million (up on 3.8million +5%)
Play-Off Average: 575,000 per game
Most Watched Teams
Munster
Cell C Sharks
Vodacom Bulls
DHL Stormers
Connacht
10 of the 16 BKT URC clubs have seen season-on-season growth in their audiences
Top 10 Most Watched Matches in Regular Season
DHL Stormers v Munster 688,903
Connacht v Cell C Sharks 584,765
Ulster v DHL Stormers 543,964
Emirates Lions v Leinster 503,228
Cell C Sharks v DHL Stormers 501,618
Ulster v Vodacom Bulls 495,527
Cell C Sharks v Ospreys 493,776
DHL Stormers v Vodacom Bulls 490,829
Leinster v Munster 456,559
Vodacom Bulls v Cardiff 448,654
