Audience for DHL Super Rugby Pacific 2024 competition grows significantly - Sky

By the end of the 2024 DHL Super Rugby Pacific competition, nearly 2.1 million New Zealanders have tuned in to watch the action on Sky Sport and free-to-air on Sky Open, a lift of 12% on the 2023 tournament – and up from over 1.94 million at the end of the 2024 regular season.[1]

A further 249,000 unique viewers enjoyed the action over on digital channels Sky Sport Now and Sky Go,[2] with over 6.81 million streams throughout the tournament.[3] We know that many of our streaming customers cast the match to the big screen and ‘co-view’ with friends and family, so the number of actual viewers on Sky streaming services is likely to be significantly higher.

Jonny Errington, Sky’s Chief Content & Commercial Officer says, “With over two million New Zealanders tuning into the linear coverage on Sky Sport and Sky Open and more than a quarter of a million enjoying watching via our digital channels, there’s no doubt that this was a season that captured the imagination of rugby fans around the motu.

“We loved bringing the action to New Zealanders on Sky Sport – and also sharing ‘Super Saturday’ match each week of the regular season, with a live start on Sky Open.”

The majority of our DHL Super Rugby Pacific sports fans watched via Sky Sport – with a double-digit percentage growth in viewership on the Sky Box and also substantial growth in the free-to-air audience on Sky Open.

DHL Super Rugby Pacific Chair, Kevin Malloy is pleased with the results of the season. “It’s fantastic to see the 2024 season perform well, the Super Rugby Pacific teams were outstanding this season with some close matches, upsets and overall, fast, intense, competitive rugby.”

“The quality of the competition is also reflected through our off-field results. We saw more fans showing up to games, tuning in on broadcast and engaging across our digital channels. A huge thank you to all fans for your support this season, we couldn’t do it without your passion and dedication.”

The Blues v Chiefs final on Saturday attracted the largest audience of the tournament, with nearly 644,000 watching on Sky Sport and Sky Open, and an impressive 113,000 unique viewers on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.

The Blues v Crusaders match on 25 May retained its high rating status, coming in third place for viewership, with nearly 552,000 people tuning in on Sky Sport and Sky Open throughout the match and nearly 60,900 people streaming on Sky Sport Now and Sky Go.[4]