England v Ireland clash causes lowly Super League viewing figures

The viewing figures for BBC’s coverage of the Super League clash between Salford Red Devils and Catalans Dragons have been confirmed with yet another decline in average audience.

That is per Rugby League On TV who shared information about the viewing figures for the game on their X profile.

It marked the second weekend in a row to show a Super League game after last week’s clash between Huddersfield Giants and St Helens, with this being the first season that the BBC have been able to broadcast live Super League games.

It’s a mixed review for the viewing figures with a lower average audience and audience share, albeit a higher peak than the week prior.

The official stats are an average audience of 186,000, down approximately 30,000 from the week before, a 1.8% audience share compared to 2.4%, however, a peak of 364,000 which is up by over 100,000.

However, the game was going toe-to-toe with ITV’s coverage of the international football game between Ireland and England which had particular spotlight on it given the fact it was a clash between two home nations and the first under a new manager.

Per Rugby League On TV, that game drew a whopping 32.9% audience share with a 4.7 million peak in viewership, which makes the average audience decline of just 29,000 far more palatable.

Salford v Catalan on BBC 2
186,000 average
1.8% audience share
364,000 peak.

It’s a low figure but when on ITV you have Ireland v England ⚽ with 3 million average 32.9% share and 4.7 million peak it’s probably a decent figure that in context. https://t.co/ERhEbuy1yk

— RugbyLeagueonTV.com (@rugbyleagueontv) September 8, 2024

When is Super League next on the BBC?

Whilst it has seemed like fans have been waiting all season for Super League matches on the BBC, the benefit is now that they are coming weekly and next weekend will be the third consecutive weekend to see a game aired on the broadcaster.

Salford Red Devils will be in action again and they’ll know that a win guarantees their play-off spot and also put them in the driving seat for a home game in that first round of post-season fixtures.

They’ll take on Hull FC who are coming off the back of a season-worst performance after being beaten 68-6 by Leeds Rhinos.

The Black and Whites will be fighting to restore pride in the badge and avoid the wooden spoon and if Salford take their eye off the ball then it could be a potential banana skin.

BBC will then broadcast two games during the play-offs, one in each round and details of those broadcasts have previously been confirmed too.

Sky Sports, as the sport’s main broadcaster, will air every game but the BBC will show two of the Super League play-off matches. Full details can be seen below.

Super League play-off dates and kick-off times
Eliminator 1 – Friday, September 27
4th place vs 5th place – Sky Sports (8:00 pm)

Eliminator 2 – Saturday, September 28
3rd place vs 6th place – Sky Sports and BBC Sport (5:30 pm)

Semi-final 1 – Friday, October 4
2nd place vs highest ranked eliminator winner – Sky Sports (8:00 pm)

Semi-final 2 – Saturday, October 5
1st place vs lowest ranked eliminator winner – Sky Sports and BBC Sport (5:30 pm)

Grand Final – Saturday, October 12
Semi-final 1 winner vs semi-final 2 winner – Sky Sports (6:00 pm)