Munster Are Most-Watched Side In URC

10th July 2023 By The Editor

Over one million people tuned in for the URC Grand Final. Inpho

A viewership of over 37 million watched the BKT United Rugby Championship during the 2022/23 season which broke another broadcast record thanks to an 8% rise in audience figures.

Munster were the most-watched team in the competition. Pick up a Season Ticket for 2023/24 here.

Our clash against DHL Stormers in April had the highest viewership in the regular season (688,903).

Munster’s semi-final win against Leinster drew 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.

Twelve months on from announcing a previous record of over 34.6million, the BKT URC can now report that a cumulative total of 37.4million tuned in to watch the drama unfold from across Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.

The figure also includes five rounds where the audience was over 2 million and 12 rounds were the audience climbed beyond 1.5million. 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.

Martin Anayi, United Rugby Championship CEO, said: “It has been a record-setting year for the BKT URC in terms of attendances and now to set a new bar for TV audiences is a testament to new levels of interest that surround our league.

“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 attendances do not happen without our broadcast partners and teams playing their part and they all deserve great credit for this achievement.”