More record numbers for RL Commercial

With the dust settling on a spectacular 30th Super League season, Rugby League Commercial has today summarised some of the statistics that reflect an outstanding year of growth.

The season had started in February with a best-ever opening night attendance in Wigan, continued in Las Vegas with record-breaking Sky Sports viewing figures, set more attendance records for Rivals Round over the Easter weekend – and concluded with a Grand Final that attracted the highest crowd for eight years, and the second best viewing figures ever.

And that’s without mentioning digital figures which smashed through previous barriers on a weekly and monthly basis, and continued that pattern to the end with more than 58 million social media impressions for the three-week Play-Off period, plus 32 million video views and 1.3 million social media engagements.

Rhodri Jones, the Managing Director of RL Commercial, said:

“We don’t have long to draw breath between the climax of the domestic season, and the start of the Ashes – but it is worth pausing briefly to reflect on the successes of 2025.

“We set out our stall, from our best-ever launch at Co-Op Live, to lift Super League to new levels in its 30th season. We believe we’ve done that – and it’s been a fantastic team effort, with staff at all the clubs and our broadcast and commercial partners joining RL Commercial to provide the outstanding athletes of the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Super Leagues with the platforms they deserve.

“There was a real buzz at the start of the season, with Michael Buffer welcoming the teams for the opening fixture at Wigan, and that continued right to the end with a compelling Play-Off series and an historic Grand Final.

“We’d had record viewing figures for the second Semi Final between Hull KR and St Helens, and that was followed by a huge lift in our Grand Final figures on Sky Sports for the second consecutive year.

“With extended highlights on BBC Two and iPlayer, our overall Grand Final figures are now approaching 820,000 – and they saw a vibrant Old Trafford spectacle with a crowd of 68,853 generating a fantastic atmosphere.

“It does feel like a special year for the sport as we now look forward to the return of the Rugby League Ashes for the first time in more than two decades, with the Kangaroos to arrive in London this week ahead of the First Test at Wembley on October 25.

“We went past the 50,000 ticket sales milestone this week, and as awareness builds following the announcement of England’s squad on Monday, we’re looking good to beat the previous record for an Ashes Test in London of 57,034 – and hopefully to push beyond 60,000.”