There is no denying the growing popularity of Women’s sport, and Women’s rugby in particular is thriving with increased attendances and TV viewership. Recent data from the Women’s Sport Trust presents how within the first four months of 2023, Women’s sport has received record TV viewing figures in the UK.
“From January 1st to April 30th 2023, 20.6 million people watched at least three minutes or more of Women’s sport.” BBC Sport reported. The 2023 Women’s Six Nations was a key competition, which led to such record highs. The record attendance figures were also witnessed in-person, as England’s Grand Slam decider with France saw 58,498 fans pack themselves into Twickenham Stadium, setting a new record for a Women’s Rugby match.
England’s Red Roses won the Grand Slam for a second consecutive season, as well as their fifth consecutive Women’s Six Nations title. The 2023 Women’s Six Nations was a key competition in growing viewership of Women’s sport in the UK, along with football’s Women’s Super League and cricket’s ICC T20 World Cup.
The growth of viewership has increased up from 18.9 million people, from the same four months in 2022. The Women’s Six Nations recorded their own record viewing figures, as the tournament was watched for a total of 10.4 million hours.
Additionally, there has been an increase in the female viewership for the Women’s Six Nations. The statistics continue to present how 42% of the Women’s Six Nations audience were women, which has grown significantly from the 37% last year. The growing coverage of the Red Roses has certainly contributed to this, as did last year’s Rugby World Cup.
England made the final of the pandemic-delayed Rugby World Cup, with the reported peak in viewing figures being 2.6 million people. England lost the final, in a dramatic battle with New Zealand’s Black Ferns. However, despite the result, the Red Roses certainly showcased their talents, and grew the audience for the following Women’s Six Nations.
Women’s Rugby is only going to continue on this upward trajectory, with ground-breaking new competitions set to maintain this forward momentum. England head back to New Zealand this October, for the inaugural WXV competition.