The Rugby World Cup 2023 has made history as the most watched rugby event to date, accumulating an impressive 1.33 billion viewing hours across various traditional and digital platforms. World Rugby, the governing body for the sport, announced this significant achievement.
Taking place in France last summer, the global rugby tournament experienced a substantial 30% increase in viewing hours compared to the 2015 edition in the UK, and a remarkable 19% increase from the 2019 World Cup in Japan. Despite the national team’s early exit, France emerged as the host country with the highest viewership, amassing a massive 481 million viewing hours. Japan followed closely behind with 175.9 million viewing hours over the seven-week period.
In addition to the traditional rugby strongholds, World Rugby reported notable growth in viewership in emerging markets such as Germany, Italy, and the US. Interestingly, the UK fell short of its 2015 viewing record by 27%, garnering 361 million viewing hours.
It is important to note that all top 10 performing channels were free-to-air, with leading broadcasters TF1 and ITV1 accumulating 322 million and 295 million viewing hours respectively. The rise of digital platforms was also evident, as ITVX, the streaming platform from the UK broadcaster, secured the eighth spot with 27 million viewing hours. Overall, the global event was streamed a staggering 60 million times, reflecting an 80% increase from the previous World Cup.
World Rugby’s OTT platform, RugbyPass, also experienced a surge in popularity, attracting a total of 1.7 million global users and nearly 700,000 live views. The final match between South Africa and New Zealand emerged as the highlight of the tournament, accumulating a remarkable 94 million viewing hours, followed closely by the France v South Africa quarter-final with 69 million viewing hours.
Alan Gilpin, the chief executive of World Rugby, expressed his delight with the tremendous success of the event, stating, “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. 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.”
The Rugby World Cup 2023 has not only set new records but has also reinforced the sport’s global appeal and growing influence in both traditional and emerging markets. As the tournament continues to captivate audiences worldwide, the future of rugby looks brighter than ever.