Dave Woods.

[cookey]

Another uplifting story from Dave Woods on the BBC rl web pages, certainly worth reading.

[Damien]

I presume you are talking about this, just a snip below:

A healthy 1.8 million viewers tuned in for the men's tournament opener between England and Samoa. And the figures for the other two group games have not been far behind.

On a regular weekend of Super League fixtures, whether they be on satellite channels or free to air, a figure of 300,000 viewers would be considered good. But that number has been surpassed by many of these World Cup games.

The England women's opener against Brazil on a Tuesday afternoon on BBC Two scored with half a million viewers. That's more than a match for the number of viewers who watched the men's Super League Grand Final live back in September.

Australia v Scotland may have been a blow out, but a peak of 800,000 were watching late in the second half on BBC Two.

And many of the matches on BBC Three have also been punching high, with regular audiences of 300,000 plus, more than that channel might have expected for its usual programming.

The TV buzz around the tournament in other regular programming - breakfast shows, news bulletins etc - is making this Rugby League World Cup arguably the most talked about ever by the British public.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63506436

[Gerrumonside ref]

15 minutes ago, Damien said:

I presume you are talking about this, just a snip below:

A healthy 1.8 million viewers tuned in for the men's tournament opener between England and Samoa. And the figures for the other two group games have not been far behind.

On a regular weekend of Super League fixtures, whether they be on satellite channels or free to air, a figure of 300,000 viewers would be considered good. But that number has been surpassed by many of these World Cup games.

The England women's opener against Brazil on a Tuesday afternoon on BBC Two scored with half a million viewers. That's more than a match for the number of viewers who watched the men's Super League Grand Final live back in September.

Australia v Scotland may have been a blow out, but a peak of 800,000 were watching late in the second half on BBC Two.

And many of the matches on BBC Three have also been punching high, with regular audiences of 300,000 plus, more than that channel might have expected for its usual programming.

The TV buzz around the tournament in other regular programming - breakfast shows, news bulletins etc - is making this Rugby League World Cup arguably the most talked about ever by the British public.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/63506436

That’s great news and just shows the reach of internationals even in just the group phase.

[whatmichaelsays]

It will be interesting to see the viewing figures from last night's wheelchair game. The response on social media has been incredibly positive. 

[Tubby]

48 minutes ago, whatmichaelsays said:

It will be interesting to see the viewing figures from last night's wheelchair game. The response on social media has been incredibly positive. 

It was a great game to watch too.

[Big Picture]

1 hour ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

That’s great news and just shows the reach of internationals even in just the group phase.

I think you mean the reach of a World Cup.  Unless I'm mistaken regular Internationals don't draw such big audiences.

[gingerjon]

1 hour ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

That’s great news and just shows the reach of internationals even in just the group phase.

It also shows that we would be absolutely mad to lose our FTA windows - whether that's internationals (sometimes hidden on Sky) or the Challenge Cup.

It can't be stressed enough that more people watched England v Brazil in a women's match on a Tuesday afternoon than the actual Super League Grand Final.

[JonM]

14 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

I think you mean the reach of a World Cup.  Unless I'm mistaken regular Internationals don't draw such big audiences.

It would be nice if we had regular internationals to use as a comparison. The BBC figures for the 3rd game of the England v New Zealand 3-match series in 2015 were 1.9 million, which was considered pretty good as it was up against the Arsenal v Spurs derby game on at the same time.

[Gerrumonside ref]

51 minutes ago, Big Picture said:

I think you mean the reach of a World Cup.  Unless I'm mistaken regular Internationals don't draw such big audiences.

I think it’s more the international factor than the World Cup factor tbf.

The build up which you’ve probably not seen in Canada, has of course utilised the fact it’s a Rugby League World Cup, but it’s not like it’s a huge recognisable brand beforehand even amongst sports fans.

I think what we’re benefitting from more is the general rugby reputation of the competing nations and the fact that it’s easier to get people interested in watching England than say Leeds.

Edited November 4, 2022 by Gerrumonside ref

[Bedford Roughyed]

3 hours ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

I think it’s more the international factor than the World Cup factor tbf.

The build up which you’ve probably not seen in Canada, has of course utilised the fact it’s a Rugby League World Cup, but it’s not like it’s a huge recognisable brand beforehand even amongst sports fans.

I think what we’re benefitting from more is the general rugby reputation of the competing nations and the fact that it’s easier to get people interested in watching England than say Leeds.

Internationals get more press than the challenge cup or grand final.

I'm guessing a world cup gets a bit more over a longer period than an international series.  

Yearly competitive internationals and a regular world cup is the key.

[overtheborder]

5 hours ago, gingerjon said:

It also shows that we would be absolutely mad to lose our FTA windows - whether that's internationals (sometimes hidden on Sky) or the Challenge Cup.

It can't be stressed enough that more people watched England v Brazil in a women's match on a Tuesday afternoon than the actual Super League Grand Final.

That's a great stat, I wouldn't have thought it'd be an unpopular one but never thought it'd surpass viewing figures for the Grand Final. Be interested to see some analysis by region, demographic etc as to who's tuning in - that might give a fuller picture.

[CanaBull]

This is a great article, so good to read a feel good story for a change!  I've been streaming games over here on the FITE TV app, I wonder if those figures are included or not, and it would be interesting to see those on their own too.

[Jamesthepratt]

On 04/11/2022 at 09:32, whatmichaelsays said:

It will be interesting to see the viewing figures from last night's wheelchair game. The response on social media has been incredibly positive. 

England v Oz wheelchair 

average - 447k. peaked at 642k 

Wheelchair Games yesterday were a bit disappointing around 100k average (peaking at 150k) 

 

[Spidey]

3 hours ago, Jamesthepratt said:

England v Oz wheelchair 

average - 447k. peaked at 642k 

Wheelchair Games yesterday were a bit disappointing around 100k average (peaking at 150k) 

 

More than games on Sky or Premier sports.  Clubs need to take note when chasing SL A status, that it’s not just about one team

[RigbyLuger]

5 hours ago, Jamesthepratt said:

England v Oz wheelchair 

average - 447k. peaked at 642k 

Wheelchair Games yesterday were a bit disappointing around 100k average (peaking at 150k) 

 

You are comparing England playing a prime time versus two games on daytime TV.

[Jamesthepratt]

14 hours ago, RigbyLuger said:

You are comparing England playing a prime time versus two games on daytime TV.

I’m not comparing them at all. I’m just giving you the overnight figures 

the reason I said the games on Thursday were a bit disappointing is because they are low figures for bbc2 regardless of day/time/slot.