ITV Announce Rugby World Cup Viewing Figures
ITV has claimed rising audiences for its Rugby World Cup coverage, making the announcement after the conclusion of the competition’s pool stages.
The broadcaster says that audiences have risen by almost a third when compared with 2011, a comparison justified by the broadcaster on the grounds that the New Zealand-hosted competition, which took place eight years ago, is the last time a Rugby World Cup saw matches take place in the morning, UK time.
Scotland’s defeat against Japan is the most-watched game in the UK so far. The Japanese victory secured the host nation a place in the quarter finals of the competition. The game garnered interest as it came in the direct aftermath of the destruction caused by Typhoon Hagibis, which threatened the cancellation of the match, as well as the fact that the game turned out to be a qualification decider.
That match saw a peak audience of 5.7m, which ITV says is the highest overall daytime audience it has received since Boxing Day 2016.
ITV has also announced that it has had an average of 1.7m viewers per match for this year’s tournament, which would represent a 30% rise from 2011, despite the fact that England’s biggest match of the pool stages – when they were scheduled to play France – was cancelled due to the weather conditions.
England’s clashes with Argentina and Tonga were the second and third most-watched matches respectively, with Wales’s victory over Australia and Ireland’s win over Scotland rounding off the top five.
