Battle of Britain No. 10s Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell prove to be a box office success as Saracens’ victory over Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium breaks the Premiership television ratings record.
Saracens’ ‘showdown’ with Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Saturday broke the Premiership television audience record, with a peak audience of over 1.5 million people.
The game, which was shown simultaneously on ITV and BT Sport, handily surpassed the previous record of 1.3 million viewers for the league final at Twickenham last June.
Saracens won the derby match with their London rivals 36-24 and both sides were bolstered by the return of their Test contingents en masse. Owen Farrell’s face-to-face with England’s number 10 rival Marcus Smith served as the box office focal point for the match, which drew a crowd of over 55,000.
Premiership Rugby confirmed that the combined peak audience was 1.516 million – 1.33 million watching on ITV and 186,000 on BT Sport. The game achieved a 7.1 percent share of all UK television viewers at the time.
The eye-catching numbers came on a weekend when, in addition to the excellent attendance for Spurs, champions Leicester drew over 21,500 fans to Welford Road for their thumping victory over Bristol, Bath had their fourth sellout of the stint at The Rec. and London Irish drew the second biggest home crowd since their move to Brentford.
Marcus Smith’s head-to-head with Owen Farrell helped achieve a Premiership television ratings record for the Saracens’ 36-24 win over the Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Premiership Rugby have confirmed that there was a peak audience of over 1.5 million
These are rays of light in the darkness of a season in which English club football has been beset by financial turbulence, leading to the collapse of Wasps and Worcester, and he fears others are in trouble too.
“We are delighted to see the latest television record numbers,” said PRL chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor. “And we are equally pleased to see stadium attendance on a strong upward trajectory.”
The fight for play-off spots is winding down, with eight teams still vying to make the cut, joining league leaders Saracens; from Sale, second placed, to Gloucester, who is ninth.
There is every chance of a riveting climax to a campaign that has been marked by engaging rugby and close contests, braving behind-the-scenes riots.
The Premiership final takes place on May 27 this year at Twickenham, with Saracens, defeated finalists last year, firmly on course to take part in the showpiece, via a home semi-final.
He goes out and all the other challengers, including champions Leicester, will know that Mark McCall’s upper class side are favorites and will hold back for a bit.
It offers some light amid the gloom of a season in which the English game has been plagued by financial turmoil, leading to the collapse of both the Wasps and the Worcester Warriors.