Australian Rugby Union is today celebrating an historic and record breaking Super Rugby Final, that saw the subscription TV audience and Super Rugby crowd records smashed as the Queensland Reds claimed their maiden Super Rugby title.
Last night’s gripping Super Rugby Final between the Reds and the Crusaders obliterated the subscription television ratings record with an average audience of 518,000 viewers tuning in to the Live and Exclusive broadcast on FOX SPORTS 3HD & FOX SPORTS 3.
The dramatic encounter between two of the competition’s most entertaining teams delivered Australian subscription television its first average audience in excess of 500,000, surpassing the World Cup Qualifier match between the Socceroos and Uzbekistan, by around 20%, which was seen by an average audience of 431,000 in April 2009.
The match also attracted some 185,000 more viewers than the previous most watched Super Rugby broadcast, which was the 2008 decider between the Crusaders and Waratahs.
Subscription TV records weren’t the only ones being set last night with the highest ever crowd for a provincial Rugby game turning out at Suncorp Stadium.
A record 52,113 came through the gates for last night’s final eclipsing the previous provincial Rugby crowd record of 49,327 set in 1907 between NSW and New Zealand at the SCG.
ARU Managing Director and CEO, John O’Neill AO, said the energy and excitement around the 2011 Super Rugby season had culminated in an historic record breaking Final for Queensland and Australian Rugby.
“This is a wonderful result and congratulations to the Reds for what has been a phenomenal season,” Mr O’Neill said.
The record ratings for the 2011 Super Rugby Final caps an unparalleled season of Super Rugby on FOX SPORTS, where regular season average audiences for Live matches were 41% higher than the previous season.
Previous record subscription television audience: 431,000 (Socceroos v Uzbekistan World Cup Qualifier, April 1, 2009).
Previous Record Audience For Super Rugby Broadcast On FOX SPORTS: 333,000 (2008 FINAL – Crusaders v Waratahs).