Last weekend’s thrilling Super League clash between Wakefield Trinity and Hull KR drew the fourth-highest TV audience on record for a regular season game, the Rugby Football League (RFL) have confirmed!
Saturday afternoon’s Round 13 game at Belle Vue produced an absolute humdinger, ending 26-24 in favour of hosts Wakefield following a last-gasp winner from Mason Lino.
That drama came at the end of a pulsating affair which included a red card apiece, coming within two minutes of each other midway through the second half.
Trinity’s Matty Storton first saw red against his former club controversially, before Rovers forward Sauaso ‘Jesse’ Sue followed him for an early bath following a swinging arm on Tray Lolesio.
And in terms of the TV figures, it’s a clash that goes into the history books for all the right reasons, with tributes paid to both John Kear and Geoff Oakes pre-match following their recent passings.
Wakefield-Hull KR thriller draws HUGE audience figures as records tumble
Not only was Saturday’s game the most-watched Super League match so far this season, it was also the fourth-highest on record for a regular season clash.
Data goes back to the start of the 2015 season, and includes all regular season games – so Magic Weekend and games in neutral venues such as Las Vegas, Paris and Wollongong are counted.
Play-off matches and Super 8s games are excluded, along with any clashes in other competitions such as the Challenge Cup.
As reigning Super League champions KR were toppled by Trinity, the game was shown on BBC Two.
Notably, the BBC are halfway through their allocation of ten Super League matches on terrestrial channels this season.
Their next scheduled match is not until July 26 though, when Leeds Rhinos host rivals Bradford Bulls. This comes after the end of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, which the broadcaster will show the vast majority of over the next few weeks.
Saturday’s humdinger at Wakefield saw the average match audience sat at 379,300, while a peak audience of 523,100 was recorded!
On both counts, those figures are the fourth-highest on record, with the top five in both categories listed below for context, and Channel 4 showing up very well following their stint as rights holders…
Super League regular season games: Highest Average Match Audience
Top 5…
5. Leeds v Castleford – 2024: Round 13 – Sky Sports Action & BBC Two – 365,312
4. Wakefield v Hull KR – 2026: Round 13 – BBC Two – 379,300
3. Castleford v Wigan – 2024: Round 1 – Sky Sports Action & BBC Two – 437,420
2. Hull FC v St Helens – 2022: Round 2 – Channel 4 – 515,000
1. Leeds v Warrington – 2022: Round 1 – Channel 4 – 564,700
Super League regular season games: Highest Peak Audience
Top 5…
5. Hull KR v Wigan – 2023: Round 1 – Channel 4 – 512,500
4. Wakefield v Hull KR – 2026: Round 13 – BBC Two – 523,100
3. Castleford v Wigan – 2024: Round 1 – Sky Sports Action & BBC Two – 560,200
2. Hull FC v St Helens – 2022: Round 2 – Channel 4 – 624,400
1. Leeds v Warrington – 2022: Round 1 – Channel 4 – 755,100