TV audience and attendance figures grow for Premiership

The Aviva Premiership has released figures to show significant increases in both attendances at games and live TV audiences.
Crowds at games have improved by 10% with 995,976 fans having attended Premiership matches so far this season which means the one millionth fan will attend Newcastle v Bath on Friday night.
Average live TV audiences on BT Sport have grown by 13% compared to the same time last season, while also being 5% up on the highest ever season (2014-15).
Other significant statistics are that 4.41 million have watched live Premiership rugby this season on BT Sport and the average Premiership attendance is now 13,833.
The Premiership is available in more countries around the world than ever before and is now available in 200 markets, reaching more than 175 million households around the world.
New ground-breaking broadcast contracts mean Premiership rugby is not only live on BT Sport, but on a number of other renowned TV channels including NBC in America, Fox Sports in Australia, SFR in France, OSN in the Middle East and ESPN in Latin America.
“It’s great to start 2017 with such good news,” said Mark McCafferty, the Chief Executive of Premiership Rugby.
“The 10% increase in Aviva Premiership Rugby attendances and 13% increase in live TV audiences shows that Premiership Rugby’s appeal continues to grow.
“The growth has come on the back of a huge amount of hard work not only at Premiership Rugby but at our 12 clubs and these rises are a testament to them.”