First Challenge Cup semi posts strong viewing figures as full numbers revealed
Mikey Lewis celebrates during Hull KR's Challenge Cup semi-final win against Catalans Dragons in 2025
Hull KR’s Challenge Cup semi-final victory over Catalans Dragons was watched by a peak of over half a million people on the BBC.
The Robins booked their spot in next month’s Wembley final courtesy of an impressive and commanding 36-12 win over the Dragons at York’s LNER Community Stadium.
That game was watched by a sell-out crowd in North Yorkshire and the viewing figures for the game have now also been revealed by Rugby League on TV.
They disclosed that the game – which was shown on BBC One, was watched by an average of around 438,000 with almost 10 per cent of the audience share.
That number is down on the figure that watched last year’s Saturday semi-final between Hull KR and Wigan. However, it retained the same audience share and with only one English team involved, perhaps was always going to be lower.
Catalan v Hull KR yesterday on BBC 1 had 438,000 average. 528,000 peak. 9.6% audience share.
Last year Hull KR v Wigan had 492,000 average but the exact same 9.6% audience share.
— RugbyLeagueonTV.com (@rugbyleagueontv) May 11, 2025
The numbers look relatively strong for rugby league on the BBC in comparison to other fixtures, and underline the growth of the sport in recent months.
Sunday’s second semi-final between Warrington Wolves and Leigh Leopards will also be shown on the BBC at 4:15pm.
However, that directly clashes with sporting events including Premier League football on Sky Sports.
But with a big crowd expected at Wembley for next month’s final no matter who joins Hull KR in the capital, there will be tentative hopes the audience figures for the sport can continue to grow.
The Robins comfortably advanced to the final after tries from the likes of Jack Broadbent and Joe Burgess laid the platform for a strong showing over the Dragons, who must now focus on Super League for the remainder of this year.
