Rugby League World Cup: record broadcast figures revealed

RLWC 2021 say the average domestic broadcast audience for every match up to November 6 totalled more than 18.7 million.

Every game has been broadcast live on the BBC, with last Saturday’s men’s quarter-final between England and Papua New Guinea being the first to average more than 1.5 million viewers.

Viewers last Saturday peaked at 1.7 million, which was beaten only by the opening match of the tournament when a maximum of 1.8 million tuned in to see England beat Samoa.

Both England teams have also attracted big audiences in the women’s and wheelchair tournaments, with an average of 500,000 viewers each.

England women’s game against Canada and the wheelchair team’s match with Australia were the most popular so far, both reaching a peak of more than 700,000.

The domestic terrestrial audience for last Saturday and Sunday’s fixtures reached an impressive 3.7 million, with digital and online figures bringing that up to 4.3 million.

Tournament chief executive Jon Dutton said: “As the tournament builds towards the latter stages we can really see how the momentum is building, with increasing audiences reflected in the latest update on broadcast figures.

“The coverage so far across the BBC and wider broadcast partners has been fantastic and I’m really pleased with how we’ve been able to showcase the sport to dedicated rugby league fans as well as new audiences around the globe.”

Dutton added: “My hope is it brings new fans to rugby league across all three formats and a personal highlight for me has been the popularity of the wheelchair tournament.

“Those close to the sport already knew how gripping it can be, but the reaction and the audience figures as the group games have progressed has been incredible, with yet more to come.”

The wheelchair (3,268 at the Copper Box for England against Spain) and women’s (8,621 in Headingley at the opening double-header) competitions have also set new record attendances, while the 23,179 gate at Wigan for England men’s win over PNG was the highest-ever at a World Cup quarter-final.