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A Round One to remember

17 Feb 2025

A Round One to remember

Dramatic, unpredictable and record-breaking, on and off the field. The opening round of the 2025 Betfred Super League season has lit the fuse for what was already guaranteed to be a trailblazing year.

Following on from Thursday night’s historic opening fixture at Wigan, when Leigh Leopards snatched the first 1-0 victory in three decades of Super League history in front of a record opening round crowd of 21,748, there was another golden point thriller in front of a home sell-out of 11,020 on Friday night at Hull KR.

With Leeds Rhinos and St Helens also attracting five-figure gates on Saturday, the aggregate Round One attendance was 75,494, with an average of 12,582 – in each case the second best ever for a six-match opening round, falling just short of the records set in 2024.

There were also a number of significant increases in viewing figures, notably for the Thursday night opener at Wigan which had a 38% increase in the Sky Sports audience compared to the corresponding 2024 fixture between Hull FC and Hull KR – for a spectacular show which began with Michael Buffer welcoming the gladiators to the pitch, and ended with Gareth O’Brien’s golden point drop goal.

The figures for Sky’s Friday night coverage of Hull KR’s equally dramatic golden point win against Castleford Tigers were 28% up on the Sky Sports average for the 2024 season, and BBC2’s coverage of St Helens’ demolition of Salford on Saturday evening attracted a peak audience of 425,000, with an average of 351,520.

Super League’s digital channels showed huge increases, with a total of 19m impressions across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube representing a 174% increase on the figure for the opening week of the 2024 season – which was itself 98% up on 2023.

There were 7.6m video views (158% up on 2024) and 412,000 engagements (up 111%), helping to generate 6,400 new followers (100% more than for the corresponding period last year).

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

“What a weekend it has been. It’s been the noisiest build-up to a Super League season for some time, with so much excitement about the Round Three match between Wigan and Warrington in Las Vegas, and we’ve seen that reflected in the response to the opening round matches.

“Leigh Leopards had set the tone by winning at the home of the champions on the opening night, and Castleford Tigers went agonisingly close to claiming an equally unexpected win at the 2024 runners-up Hull KR on Friday.

“Wakefield Trinity marked their return to the Betfred Super League with a thrilling win at Leeds on Saturday, and Huddersfield Giants pushed Warrington all the way on Sunday – with Hull FC fuelling the new mood of optimism at their club with an opening win against the Catalans in Perpignan, and Tristan Sailor making a four-try debut for St Helens.

“In terms of digital numbers and media coverage, we’ve seen the benefit of spreading the six matches across four days, ensuring a greater focus on each fixture - and it will be the same again this week with Wakefield kicking things off at home to Hull KR on Thursday night, and Leigh rounding off the weekend against Huddersfield on Sunday afternoon in a match that will be shown live on Sky Sports + and BBC Two.

“Then next week, Wigan, Warrington and England Women will be heading for Vegas. These are exciting times for the sport.”

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