(Reuters) – The 2023 Rugby World Cup held in France had a 19% viewership growth from the 2019 edition, becoming the most viewed rugby event of all time, World Rugby (WR) said on Tuesday.
The event, held in September and October, clocked in 1.33 billion viewing hours across linear and non-linear broadcast, a 30% growth from the last World Cup held in Europe in 2015 in England.
Of the total viewership, 85% came from free-to-air TV broadcasters, while streaming platforms accounted for 5% of the total viewership.
“World Rugby teamed up with free-to-air broadcast partners in most markets to showcase the best of rugby to as many fans as possible,” WR said in a statement.
“Eight of the 11 markets surveyed saw strong viewership growth since 2015 despite a general decline in linear TV globally,” they added.
Italy had a 70% growth in viewership compared to the 2015 edition, while the viewership in the U.S. more than doubled.
Japan was the country with the third highest viewership despite many matches kicking off late, although the numbers marked a decrease from the 2019 edition that they hosted.
Japan’s group stage matches against Argentina and Samoa, which kicked off at 7:45 p.m. in the country, clocked in 33 million viewing hours each, the highest for a domestic broadcast.
“We will continue to work with our broadcast partners to enhance the viewing experience, especially for new audiences,” World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
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