Sports Marketing Surveys, a global sponsorship research agency based in Johannesburg, has released figures which reveal that the 2008 Super 14 season showed good growth in television audience.gigures.
The findings reveal that average audience figures on SuperSport are higher at 198 572 viewers per match compared to last year’s Super 14 competition, which reached 172 669 viewers per match in the same period. Reported market share on SuperSport increased by 9% from the start of the competition.
The highest Super rugby television audience to date is the Sharks vs. Chiefs game on 17th May 2008, which reached a record combined audience* of 768 990 viewers. The SuperSport broadcast alone reached nearly 540 000 viewers.
“When you consider that the 2007 Super 14 Final between the Bulls and Sharks reached an average audience on SuperSport of 579 607 and 633 080 for the IRB Rugby World Cup Final – Super Rugby is getting Super audiences!’ says Marc Jury, acting Managing Director for Sports Marketing Surveys. “These results are very encouraging for Super 14 rugby. It shows that more and more South Africans across the board are starting to take an interest in the game.’
This year’s semi-finals featuring Hurricanes vs. Crusaders and the Waratahs vs. Sharks showed good audience delivery. The Crusaders vs. Waratahs game reached a combined audience* audience group of 348 354 viewers and the Waratahs vs. Sharks game reaching 580 466 viewers. Last year’s semi-final games attracted higher audience figures however, with the Bulls vs. Crusaders game reaching a combined audience of 832 454 and the Sharks vs. Auckland Blues game a total of 777 156 viewers. This was due to the impact of key audience drivers such as the Bulls beating the Crusaders on home turf, as well as the possibility of the Bulls facing local rivals the Sharks in the Final.
This information forms part of Sports Marketing Surveys latest constructed database which stores a complete analysis of all viewership data across sporting broadcasts on both free to air and digital platforms.
*Combined audience comprises of South African All Adult viewers 16+ watching on Mnet and SuperSport
