The United Rugby Championship has issued a statement, confirming that the league has continued to grow its fanbase throughout the past season. The 2023/24 campaign achieved all-time high attendance and broadcast records, for the international rugby competition.
The URC has also maintained its position as the rugby competition with the fastest growth rate on social media, in addition to the league’s rise in viewership on YouTube. The 2023/24 BKT URC season was the most competitive and unpredictable in the league’s history and this level of jeopardy proved to attract a record number of fans. The total audience figure of 47.7million shattered the previous high mark of 37.4million set in 2023.
The Round 11 audience brought in a viewership of 3.4million, as the game-week took place on a break in the Guinness Six Nations. This was one of seven rounds that achieved an audience of over 2.5million while a further 4.7million tuned into the seven-game Play-Off series, where the average audience per game was 671,428.
The Vodacom Bulls proved a key draw in the Play-Offs, with close to a million viewers (947,589) tuning into their epic Semi-Final win over Leinster. The Grand Final defeat against Glasgow Warriors was watched by 1.1million people around the world.
There are also impressive figures to report in the URC’s audience beyond its core markets, with overseas audiences growing by 138% to 6.2million.
Speaking about these impressive broadcast milestones, Martin Anayi, CEO of United Rugby Championship, said: “There is an incredible array of international stars and next-gen talent taking to the pitch every single week in the BKT URC and that is a major attraction. Selected by some of the sharpest minds in rugby, these teams are also competing in a format that is designed to deliver drama.
“In three seasons the Grand Final has produced two away winners, our Play-Offs continue to deliver surprise results and nearly half of our games are decided by seven points or less – a feat no other club competition can match in this past season.
“All of this feeds into the appeal of the BKT URC as we aim to grow the competition and the sport. To break the previous broadcast record by 10million is a staggering achievement and pays testament to the superb product on the pitch and the high levels of coverage provided by our broadcasters. There has never been as much buzz about the BKT URC and our clubs, players, coaches and broadcasters deserve huge appreciation for making it what it is today.”
Staying connected to match days, the URC also recorded a 3% rise in overall attendances through the turnstiles. The total attendance of 1.69 million provides a new record in this area, with average attendances clocking in at 11,200 per game.
Round 9 also saw a new record set for the most fans attending a single URC round, with 146,000 people taking in the action across eight games in Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
Speaking about the new attendance record, Anayi, added: “There is more collaboration happening between the clubs, the league, the broadcasters and commercial partners to promote our games and attract fans to venues. Across the board all of our clubs have made strides to innovate and improve their match-day experiences and as a result supporters are now enjoying a day out that goes beyond the 80 minutes of play.
“With a number of teams upgrading their stadiums over the next 18 months we believe that these numbers will continue to rise in the long-term with some great examples of best practice being deployed across all of our territories.”