Battle of England No 10s Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell proves to be a box-office hit as Saracens’ victory over Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium shatters the Premiership’s TV viewing record
Saracens’ ‘showdown’ with Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last Saturday shattered the Premiership’s TV viewing record – with a peak audience of more than 1.5 million people.
The fixture, which was screened simultaneously on ITV and BT Sport, comfortably beat the previous record of 1.3m viewers for the league’s final at Twickenham last June.
Saracens won the derby encounter with their London rivals 36-24 and both sides were reinforced by the return of their Test contingents en masse. Owen Farrell’s head-to-head with England No 10 rival Marcus Smith served as the box-office focal point of the match, which attracted a crowd of more than 55,000.
Premiership Rugby confirmed that the peak combined audience was 1.516m – 1.33m watching on ITV and 186,000 on BT Sport. The game achieved a 7.1 per cent share of all UK TV viewers at the time.
The eye-catching figures came on a weekend when, in addition to the bumper attendance at Spurs, champions Leicester drew more than 21,500 fans to Welford Road for their thumping win over Bristol, Bath had a fourth sell-out of the season at The Rec and London Irish attracted the second biggest home crowd since their move to Brentford.
Marcus Smith’s head-to-head with Owen Farrell helped serve up the Premiership’s TV viewing record for Saracens’ 36-24 victory over Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Premiership Rugby have confirmed that there was a peak audience of more than 1.5million
These are shafts of light amid the gloom of a season when the English club game has been beset by financial turmoil – leading to the collapse of Wasps and Worcester, and fears that others are in trouble too.
‘We are delighted to see the latest record-breaking TV figures,’ said PRL chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor. ‘And we are equally pleased to see stadium attendances on a strong upwards trajectory.’
The tussle for play-off places is going down to the wire, with eight teams still in contention to make the cut – joining league leaders Saracens; from second-placed Sale to Gloucester who are ninth.
There is every chance of a fascinating climax to a campaign which has been marked by attractive rugby and close contests, in defiance of the unrest behind the scenes.
The Premiership Final takes place on May 27 this year at Twickenham, with last year’s beaten finalists, Saracens, firmly on course to be involved in the showpiece, via a home semi-final.
Sale and all the other challengers, including title-holders Leicester, will know that Mark McCall’s high-class side are the favourites and will take some stopping.
It offers some light amid the gloom of a season when the English game has been beset by financial turmoil – leading to the collapse of both Wasps and the Worcester Warriors
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