Press release from Fox Sports
Saturday's Super Rugby Final, which culminated in an historic maiden Super Rugby title for the Queensland Reds, has obliterated the subscription television ratings record with an average audience of 518,000 viewers tuning in to the live and exclusive broadcast on Fox Sports 3HD & Fox Sports 3.
The dramatic encounter between two of the competition's most entertaining teams delivered Australian subscription television its first average audience in excess of 500,000, surpassing the World Cup Qualifier match between the Socceroos and Uzbekistan which was seen by an average audience of 431,000 in April 2009. The match also atttacted some 185,000 more viewers than the previous most watched Super Rugby broadcast, which was the 2008 decider between the Crusaders and Waratahs.
The record ratings for the 2011 Super Rugby Final caps an unparalleled season of Super Rugby on FOX SPORTS, where regular season average audiences for LIVE matches were 41 per cent higher than the previous season. Australia's only dedicated rugby magazine show, The Rugby Club, has also experienced exceptional ratings growth with average audiences for first run shows up 150 per cent year-on-year.
While the ratings result reveals the extraordinary support enjoyed by the Reds as they outlasted the Crusaders 18-13 to take their maiden Super Rugby crown, it does not factor in the hundreds of thousands more who settled in to FOX SPORTS Venues across the country to cheer on Australia's new rugby champions.