A record number of TV viewers have been watching the new United Rugby Championship, with two games featuring Welsh sides figuring in the top four.
More than one million viewers tuned in for the second round of matches, the first time that landmark figure has been passed in the history of the Celtic League, in all its guises.
Round One of the newly expanded 16-team competition, which now features South Africa’s top four sides, had already set a record.
Domestic audiences alone surpassed the old global best of 853,511 from a derby round in the PRO14 in 2017-18.
Now, a 15 per cent increase last weekend for Round Two has pushed the total domestic audience beyond one million.
That is the combination of the average viewing figures for each of the eight matches.
URC say that, with international viewers, audiences from URC TV and consolidated reports due after Round 5, these figures will grow again.
The jump in numbers reflects the increased free-to-air coverage of the competition.
While subscription channel Premier Sports are still showing every match, the event is now featuring far more on terrestrial television, with BBC Wales and Irish state broadcaster RTE having come on board to transmit games live.
Some 75 per cent of the matches featuring Welsh teams will be shown live this season, via a combination of BBC Wales and S4C.
It was last weekend’s clash between Munster and the Stormers in Limerick which has attracted the most viewers so far, a peak of 308,000.
The biggest audience for a Welsh game has been the peak of 267,900 for Cardiff v Connacht from Round One, with the Scarlets v Lions not far behind at 251,200. Both games were shown live on BBC Wales.
The two Welsh derbies so far this season - Dragons v Ospreys and Ospreys v Cardiff - were only available on Premier Sports. No viewing figures have been released for those games.
Meanwhile, BBC Northern Ireland will broadcast their first fixture this weekend, when they show Ulster v Benetton.
Of the 16 games played so far, the five most watched URC games have involved Welsh, Italian, Irish and South African teams, with audiences across those games averaging a peak of 255,000.
URC chief executive Martin Anayi said: “To break our stated goal of one million viewers in a single round this soon is a terrific vote of confidence from our fans and is a tremendous boost to our clubs and broadcasters.
“The biggest days of the URC season are still to come and this sets a great foundation to build our audiences and grow the sport.”
All four games involving Welsh teams will be shown live on FTA terrestrial television this weekend.
The Friday night clash between the Ospreys and the Sharks will be on BBC Wales' Scrum V programme, while S4C’s Clwb Rygbi will broadcast Connacht v Dragons and Cardiff v Bulls on Saturday, then Scarlets v Munster on Sunday.
Top five URC TV audiences
1. Munster v Stormers (R2) - 308,000 peak
2. Munster v Sharks (R1) - 278,000 peak
3. Cardiff v Connacht (R1) - 267,900 peak
4. Scarlets v Lions (R2) - 251,200 peak
5. Benetton v Stormers (R1) - 174,900 peak
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