Challenge Cup quarter-final BBC viewing figures reported as Grand National hampers Hull KR audience

The TV viewing figures for the Challenge Cup quarter-finals aired on the BBC have been revealed with one game faring far better than the other.

All four quarter-finals were available to watch with St Helens versus Catalans Dragon and Warrington Wolves’ win over Leigh Leopards shown on Super League+ on a pay-per-view basis, however, it’s the free-to-air audience on the BBC that is so valuable to the Challenge Cup.

Saturday’s game saw Hull KR cruise past York Knights with a 48-10 win whilst Sunday’s game was the best of all the quarter-finals with Wigan Warriors edging Wakefield Trinity 26-22 in a classic.

There was plenty of needle in that match and that’s been evident with the disciplinary verdict confirming a two-match ban for Jazz Tevaga with Wigan pair Harry Smith and Sam Walters both banned for three matches.

It’s now been reported by Rugby League on TV that the game drew an impressive audience that averaged 423,000, representing 7.2% of the audience share.

Those are very impressive numbers and they massively overshadow Saturday’s quarter-final which drew an average audience of just 125,000 at a 2.2% audience share.

There is plenty of mitigation in those numbers, a key one being that Wakefield versus Wigan was aired on BBC One whilst Hull KR’s win over York was on BBC Two.

Moreover, Saturday’s game had to compete against the Grand National festival with horse racing live on ITV throughout the afternoon as the coverage built up to the big race at 4:00 pm.

The Women’s Six Nations was also shown on BBC One at the same time, meaning the Challenge Cup clash had big competition for eyeballs.

Audience figures are only expected to ramp up as we go further into the competition with last year’s final, aired live on BBC One, drawing an average audience of around one million with a peak of 1.2 million. The semi-finals of the competition will be played on the weekend of May 9th and 10th with the final to be played later in the month on the 30th.

Viewing Figures for Cup Ties.

Hull KR v York (Saturday – BBC TWO)
125,000 Average / 2.2% Audience Share
(30% Audience Share was between ITV (Grand National) & BBC 1 (Womens Six Nations)

Wakefield v Wigan (Sunday – BBC ONE)
423.000 Average / 7.2% Audience Share

— RugbyLeagueonTV.com (@rugbyleagueontv) April 13, 2026