2024 has been a watershed moment for rugby league on the BBC.
For the first ever, Super League fixtures have been broadcast on the terrestrial giant, with ten on BBC One/Two and five more being covered by BBC iPlayer and the Red Button.
The BBC’s coverage of rugby league began in earnest with the 2024 World Club Challenge as Wigan Warriors took home a priceless win over Penrith Panthers.
That fixture was played out on BBC Two this year with the tie averaging a viewing figure of 350,000 and a 2.5% audience share with a peak of 539,000.
Meanwhile, the BBC Two viewing figure for Castleford Tigers’ opening game against the Warriors averaged 357,000, with a 2.8 per cent average share of the audience and a peak of 487,000.
In early April, Catalans Dragons ran out 14-6 winners at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in one of the most intense clashes of the 2024 Super League season so far with anticipation high amongst rugby league fans that tuned in for an 8.05pm kick-off.
That tie averaged 110,000 on BBC Three on Saturday night with a peaked of 133,000 with a 0.9% audience share. There was also an average of 112,000 on Sky Sports Main Event with a 126,000 peak and 0.9% audience share.
The BBC’s coverage of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals saw two massive audience figures.
Hull KR vs Leigh Leopards (BBC Two) had a 381,000 average with a 521,000 peak (6.30pm) and 3.8% audience share.
Meanwhile, St Helens vs Warrington (BBC Two) had a 342,000 average with a 414,000 peak (6pm) and 3.5% audience share.
On May 11, Leigh Leopards took on Salford Red Devils in front of the BBC Three cameras, with Rugby League on TV revealing that the fixture had an average of just 55,000 viewers and a peak of merely 63,000.
That equated to a 0.5% audience share which is half the audience of that tuned in to watch Catalans Dragons’ home tie against St Helens last month.
Hull KR’s Challenge Cup drubbing by Wigan had an average of 492,000 viewers on BBC One on Saturday 18 May, with a peak of 540,000. That equated to a 9.6 per cent share of the audience.
On Sunday 19 May, though the numbers don’t fare as well, Warrington’s thrashing of Huddersfield averaged 260,000 on BBC Two, with a peak of 337,000 and an audience share of 3.7 per cent.
The figures for Castleford Tigers’ trip to Leeds Rhinos on Saturday 1 June were not released.
However, the final of the Challenge Cup, broadcast on June 8 from Wembley Stadium, had a peak of 877,000 viewers on BBC One and an average of 745,000 which equated to a 12.6 per cent share of the audience.
On Sunday 1 September, Huddersfield Giants took on St Helens at the John Smith’s Stadium, with 215,000 people on average tuning in and a peak of 259,000. That equated to a 2.4 per cent share of the audience.
Saturday 7 September and Salford Red Devils hosted the Catalans Dragons in front of an average audience of 186,000 on BBC Two and a peak of 364,000. That was 1.8 per cent of the audience share.
On Saturday 14 September, Hull FC hosted Salford Red Devils at the MKM Stadium on BBC Two. There was a peak of 317,000 with an average of 273,000. That equated to a 3.2 per cent audience share.
All figures provided by Rugby League on TV whilst figures for the Super League fixtures between Salford Red Devils-Hull KR and Warrington Wolves-Catalans Dragons from the BBC iPlayer/Red Button are unavailable.
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