Rugby World Cup 2023 most viewed rugby event of all time
JANUARY 30, 2024 11.22 EUROPE/LONDON BY JULIAN CLOVER

Rugby World Cup 2023 in France was the most viewed rugby event of all time, achieving a massive 1.33 billion hours across all programming programming on linear and non-linear broadcast.

The growth comes despite the well-documented decline in linear TV and includes a growing audience in Rugby’s emerging territories such as Germany and the United States.

World Rugby’s strategy was to make the event freely available and secured 85% of its global viewership from free-to-air TV. Streaming services accounted for 5% of the audience as RugbyPass TV made coverage available in those markets without a local broadcaster.

Streaming platform ITVX was the 8th most successful ‘broadcaster’.

“Rugby World Cup 2023 has been a fantastic tournament on and off the field and we are delighted to see that the thrilling spectacle millions enjoyed in France captured the hearts of millions more worldwide,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin. “As our sport continues to grow and break new markets, we will continue to work with our broadcast partners to enhance the viewing experience, especially for new audiences, helping us achieve our vision of making rugby a global sport for all.”

Hosts France recorded the highest viewership worldwide with 481 million viewing hours despite the national team’s exit at the quarter-final stage.

UK audiences came close to breaking the 2015 record (361 million) when England hosted RWC 2015. Growing viewership has also been observed in rugby’s emerging markets like Germany (15.2 million), Italy (16.1 million) and United States (11.1 million).

The RWC final between South Africa and New Zealand achieved the highest viewing hours of any match globally, with 94 million, followed by the France v South Africa quarter-final with 69 million.