- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Is Australian rugby a hypochondriac? This is the question that prompted the following investigation of the Super Rugby TV ratings.
In 2013, at the end of the almost sold-out Lions tour, the ARU declared that rugby was sick. How could this be so? We will look into the TV numbers to see if this is true from a ratings perspective.
We will look back starting from 2010 following through until 2015.
2010 was the last season of the much-loved single round-robin format where every team played each other once over three and a half months. 2010 saw the Bulls rampage through to the finals while the highest ranked Australian team was the Waratahs.
| Full Season Average | 88,912 | ||||
| Games Involving All Teams | |||||
| Full Season Total | 42 | 3,550,000 | |||
| Full Season Average | 84,524 | ||||
| Other | |||||
| Highest Rating | NSW vs SHA | 123,000 | |||
| Lowest Rating | BLU vs ACT | 56,000 | |||
| Aus Team Ratings Average | |||||
| Team | Games | Total | Ave | Ladder Pos | YoY Dif |
| Brumbies | 11 | 920,000 | 83,636 | 6 | |
| Force | 7 | 569,000 | 81,286 | 13 | |
| Reds | 9 | 878,000 | 97,556 | 5 | |
| Waratahs | 11 | 1,041,000 | 94,636 | 3 |
2011 was the year of backflips as the Queensland Reds marched through the Super Rugby glory, providing one of the strongest years for Australian Super Rugby TV ratings.
| Games involving Australian Teams | |||||
| 2011 | Games | AUS FOX | |||
| Full Season Total | 53 | 4,403,000 | |||
| Full Season Average | 84,673 | ||||
| Games Involving All Teams | |||||
| Full Season Total | 84 | 83,131 | |||
| Full Season Average | 6,983,000 | ||||
| Finals | |||||
| Qualifier | BLU vs NSW | 127,000 | |||
| Qualifier | CRU vs SHA | 114,000 | |||
| Semi | QLD vs BLU | 265,000 | |||
| Semi | STO vs CRU | 29,000 | |||
| Final | QLD vs CRU | 518,000 | |||
| Aus Team Regular Season | |||||
| Highest Rating | QLD vs CRU | 202,000 | |||
| Lowest Rating | STO vs WF | 25,000 | |||
| Lowest In Aus | WF vs NSW | 40,000 | |||
| Aus Team Ratings Average | |||||
| Team | Games | Total | Ave | Ladder Pos | YoY Dif |
| Brumbies | 14 | 1,164,000 | 83,143 | 13 | -1% |
| Force | 15 | 997,000 | 66,467 | 12 | -18% |
| Reds | 15 | 1,625,000 | 108,333 | 1 | 11% |
| Rebels | 12 | 999,000 | 83,250 | 15 | |
| Waratahs | 13 | 1,328,000 | 102,154 | 5 | 8% |
On the back of a disappointing 2012 World Cup campaign (if you call coming third disappointing) and a big 2011 season from the Reds, Super Rugby ratings received a shot in the arm with the increased interest in the the sport.
| Games involving Australian Teams | |||||
| 2012 | Games | AUS FOX | |||
| Full Season Total | 47 | 4,746,000 | |||
| Full Season Average | 100,980 | ||||
| Games Involving All Teams | |||||
| Full Season Total | 77 | 6,959,000 | |||
| Full Season Average | 90,377 | ||||
| Finals | |||||
| Qualifier | CRU vs BUL | 106,000 | |||
| Qualifier | QLD vs SHA | 203,000 | |||
| Semi | CHI vs CRU | 94,000 | |||
| Semi | STO vs SHA | NA | |||
| Final | CHI vs SHA | 116,000 | |||
| Aus Team Regular Season | |||||
| Highest Rating | NSW vs QLD | 193,000 | |||
| Lowest Rating | WF vs HUR | 49,000 | |||
| Notable Mention | MEL vs WF | 130,000 | |||
| Aus Team Ratings Average | |||||
| Team | Games | Total | Ave | Ladder Pos | YoY Dif |
| Brumbies | 12 | 1,221,000 | 101,750 | 7 | 22% |
| Force | 12 | 1,145,000 | 95,417 | 14 | 44% |
| Reds | 13 | 1,564,000 | 120,308 | 3 | 11% |
| Rebels | 13 | 1,268,000 | 97,538 | 13 | 17% |
| Waratahs | 14 | 1,665,000 | 118,929 | 11 | 16% |
Unfortunately I could not find the data for 2013.
On the back of the Lions tour one would think that Super Rugby ratings in 2014 would have got a shot in the arm. However, it was a bad year in the end for the Wallabies with controversy all over the places amid sackings and suspensions. This hangover may have affected public interest in the 2014 season as TV numbers seriously deteriorated from 2012 despite a huge season from the Waratahs.
| Games involving Australian Teams | |||||
| 2014 | Games | AUS FOX | |||
| Full Season Total | 39 | 2,869,000 | |||
| Full Season Average | 73,000 | ||||
| Games Involving All Teams | |||||
| Full Season Total | Sorry No Data | ||||
| Full Season Average | |||||
| Finals | |||||
| Qualifier | BRU vs CHI | 138,000 | |||
| Semi | WAR vs BRU | 238,000 | |||
| Final | WAR vs CRU | 347,000 | |||
| Aus Team Regular Season | |||||
| Highest Rating | WAR vs HUR | 129,000 | |||
| Lowest Rating | RED Vs STO | 27,000 | |||
| Notable Mention | BRU vs WAR | 125,000 | *Highest Aus Derby | ||
| Aus Team Ratings Average | |||||
| Team | Games | Total | Ave | Ladder Pos | 2014/2012 Dif |
| Brumbies | 10 | 780,000 | 78,000 | 4 | -23% |
| Force | 10 | 660,000 | 66,000 | 8 | -31% |
| Reds | 9 | 675,000 | 75,000 | 13 | -38% |
| Rebels | 9 | 597,000 | 66,000 | 14 | -32% |
| Waratahs | 9 | 885,000 | 98,000 | 1 | -18% |
If you thought the 2014 numbers looked bad I am sorry but 2015 was not much better. The fact that the Reds forgot they were meant to play rugby like a team of adults who get paid didn’t help the situation. In 2015 we also have the data from New Zealand which makes for some interesting reading when you see the New Zealand interest in some Australia derbies.
| 2015 | Games | AUS FOX | NZ SKY | AU+NZ Total | |
| Full Season Total | 46 | 2,883,000 | 2,349 | 5,232 | |
| Full Season Average | 62,673 | 51,065 | 113739 | ||
| Games Involving All Teams | |||||
| Full Season Total | 69 | 4,187,000 | 7,821,000 | 12,057,000 | |
| Total Games Broadcast | 65 | 69 | 69 | ||
| Full Season Average | 64,415 | 113,347 | 177308 | ||
| Finals | |||||
| Qualifier | HIG vs CHI | 74,000 | 312,000 | 386,000 | |
| Qualifier | BRU vs STO | 31,000 | 31,000 | ||
| Semi | HUR vs BRU | 123,000 | 416,000 | 539,000 | |
| Semi | WAR vs HIG | 174,000 | 325,000 | 499,000 | |
| Final | HUR vs HIG | 163,000 | 583,000 | 746,000 | |
| Aus Team Regular Season | |||||
| Highest Rating | REB vs WAR | 122,000 | |||
| Lowest Rating | MEL vs LIO | 24,000 | |||
| Notable Mention | FOR vs REB | 33,000 | *Lowest Aus Derby | ||
| Aus Team Ratings Average | |||||
| Team | Games | Total | Ave | Ladder Pos | YoY Dif |
| Brumbies | 15 | 904,000 | 60,266 | 6 | -23% |
| Force | 13 | 685,000 | 52,692 | 15 | -20% |
| Reds | 13 | 887,000 | 68,230 | 13 | -9% |
| Rebels | 13 | 773,000 | 59,461 | 10 | -10% |
| Waratahs | 14 | 1,084,000 | 77,428 | 2 | -21% |
| 2010/2015 Dif |
| -28% |
| -35% |
| -30% |
| -18% |
So how much can be read into the ratings? Well, it backs up the online sentiment when reading articles and comments on The Roar and other corners of the internet that Australian rugby may indeed have the flu. But how much of this is through bad publicity and terrible self-promotion by the ARU?
Would you ever hear the AFL or NRL crying poor or announcing the game is in a bad way? When you follow the A-League they only promote the great future the game is headed towards.
Hopefully on the back of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the addition of two new teams we will see a rebound in the Super Rugby ratings.
So what do you think, Roarers, is Australian rugby ill?
Interesting side notes
Shute Sheild ratings? For the April 9-12 weekend there were 15,000 viewers.
What is considered a pretty good ratings day for other sports on pay TV?
In the NRL and AFL it is 250,000-plus, while the A-League stands at 50,000 and above, and the Aviva Premiership (UK Sky and BT Sports only) pulls more than 110,000.
Disclaimer: TV ratings data is released but unfortunately not every game’s TV ratings can be found. This can affect the totals and averages of each team and their displayed ratings, thus the data is not scientific and is for reference only.
Games played in South Africa are aired, but unless you are a baker the coverage comes during the early hours of the morning and thus draws low ratings.
All the Super Rugby TV ratings data can be found here where footy industry has posted the excel spreadsheets. A big thanks to the The Wookie for collecting it all.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.