Premiership Rugby final scores record UK TV figures
The Premiership Rugby final between Bath and Leicester Tigers was the most watched edition in history, it was revealed on Tuesday.
Bath’s 23-21 victory at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham last Saturday, a win that ended a 28-year wait to win the English top flight, was watched by a record 973,000 people across TNT Sports and ITV.
Warner Bros Discovery-owned TNT Sports saw a 14 per cent increase in audience on their 2024 figures, while ITV saw a rise of 10 per cent.
The 1.26m combined TV audience peak meant that one in six of all TV viewers were watching the showpiece match.
Thomas du Toit and Max Ojomoh scored for Bath while Finn Russell kicked 13 points to see the West Country side over the line in front of over 81,500 fans at the home of English rugby.
The priority ticket window for the 2026 final, which has been open for three days, has exceeded the 2025 early bird ticket sale figure which was achieved across 17 days.
Premiership Rugby chief Simon Massie-Taylor said: “To sell out general admission tickets before either finalist club had been determined, for the first time in our history, is a testament to the unrivalled matchday experience.”
It comes as the English top flight is exploring a potential shift to a franchise model having last week announced a rebrand to Gallagher Prem from the start of next season.
The multi-national United Rugby Championship, which had its final at the 82,300-capacity Croke Park in Dublin on the same day, saw an audience of 45,000 at one week’s notice – a record for a URC final in Ireland.
Next season’s Gallagher Prem will begin on a Thursday night due to the Women’s World Cup, which takes place across England this autumn with the home nation Red Roses favourites to lift the title.