Super League

Proof Australian fans care about the World Club Challenge

by
Cam Pattison
February 20, 2023

Saturday was a great day for British rugby league.

It started with a classic encounter down under as NRL Champions played host to Super League Champions St Helens.

Written off by everyone, especially the likes of Phil Gould and other pundits as well as the bookies who gave the Saints a massive 24 point head start, the Saints defied the odds to defeat the Panthers 13-12.

They led 10-0 at halftime after a try and assist for Jack Welsby. Konrad Hurrell grabbed the second try of the game and in the second half a Lewis Dodd penalty made it 12-0.

But the Panthers clawed back level in the 79th minute sending the game to golden point extra time.

During which, Dodd nailed a drop goal to secure the win for the Saints and a historic moment for the club.

Then, Saints’ biggest rivals were beaten by Hull KR at Craven Park which, like the World Club Challenge, was shown to a wide audience on free tv on Channel 4.

The World Club Challenge was also on Sky Sports.

The Hull KR game was excellent and full of top tries.

What improved this was the massive audience that tuned into watch both.

The World Club Challenge peaked at an audience of 290,000 on Channel 4 despite being early in the morning. Its average was 202,000.

Remarkably, Hull KR vs Wigan peaked at nearly half a million. 495,000 was the peak with an average of 306,000.

It also enjoyed a huge audience share of 4.4%.

World Club Challenge on Channel 4 had a 202,000 average and 290,000 peak.

Hull KR v Wigan had a 306,000 average and 495,000 peak. 4.4% Audience Share.

— RugbyLeagueonTV.com (@rugbyleagueontv) February 19, 2023

But what about the Australian side of things?

It is often suggested that Australians don’t care about the World Club Challenge but according to NRL journalist Brad Walter, 193,000 Australians fans tuned in for the game which is well over the average viewing figures from the first week of pre-season which was 177,000.

This means nearly half a million fans watched the game.

There is definitely an audience for World Club Challenge. Nearly 500k watched on Fox Sport (193k) at 6.50pm Saturday night in Australia and C4 in UK (290k) at 7.50am Saturday morning. Not sure if this includes Kayo or other streaming/broadcasts. Also, SKY NZ.

— Brad Walter (@BradWalterSport) February 19, 2023