Try To Survive: Crisis-hit Premiership Rugby ready to gain ground in attracting new audiences

Throughout the last few seasons, Premiership Rugby has been facing numerous crises. The fall in revenue caused by Covid-19, a salary cap beyond prospective income, dwindling attendances and struggles to attract new audiences have resulted in two of its thirteen clubs going into administration and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) stating that ‘the financial situation is clearly unsustainable’. In the 21/22 season alone, average attendances dropped by nearly two thousand compared to pre-Covid levels and the league reported a loss of over ￡36 million.

The sport itself is also going through an identity crisis. The long-term impact of head injuries sustained through playing rugby has been exposed in recent years following the experiences of multiple former players suffering from early-onset dementia. Rule changes have subsequently been implemented to protect player welfare, perhaps most controversially in the amateur and age-grade level where players are now only allowed to tackle from the waist down.

The Need to Diversify Rugby’s Audience.

Facing these issues, it is perhaps no surprise that in the UK, rugby union has largely struggled to attract a younger, more diverse audience in recent years. A study of UK rugby union fans conducted through MKTG’s FanSpeed survey confirmed an audience that fits into a generally narrow archetype. More than half (58 per cent) of rugby union fans declared that they earn over ￡40K – 14 per cent higher than the national average, and 68 per cent were male. Perhaps most worryingly, only seven per cent of rugby union’s adult fanbase in the UK comes from the 18-24 age category despite 13 per cent of all UK adults being between these ages. It appears that rugby union fans are in danger of being labelled a dying breed.

Consequently, Premiership Rugby and its clubs face difficulties in diversifying their partnership portfolios. Their partners reflect this ageing, wealthy, male audience. There is an overreliance on partners from financial services and the construction industry, meanwhile partners from other areas such as apparel include Loake (Bath), Crew (Exeter), Eden Park (Leicester), Barbour (Newcastle), Church’s (Northampton) and Marc Darcy (Sale). It is a similar story looking at Premiership Rugby, who’s five main partner brands include Gallagher, Land Rover, London Pride, Funding Circle and The Famous Grouse.

Steps are being taken to tackle the urgent need to diversify the audience. For the 2023-24 season, Premiership Rugby has agreed to show four games on ITV, in addition to the Final which will be on ITV4, opening the league up to a wider audience who may not have access to BT Sport. Viewing figures from The Showdown 3 between Saracens and Harlequins, which was shown on both ITV and BT Sport, demonstrates the value of having these games on free-to-air TV. The fixture set a new viewership record for Premiership Rugby in the UK, with a peak audience of 1.5 million and a 7.1 per cent share. ITV saw a peak of 1.33 million viewers compared to just 186,000 on BT Sport.

More fixtures are also being held at non-rugby venues, such as The Showdown 3 which saw 55,000 fans in attendance at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Live music is being integrated into fixtures to enhance the spectacle for match going fans, meanwhile clubs like Bristol Bears have introduced matchday themes including Family Day, International Women’s Day and Combination Day.

Premiership Rugby has also hired Rob Calder, one of the key figures behind English cricket’s short form tournament The Hundred, as the Chief Growth Officer. County cricket in the UK is facing a similar struggle to diversify and grow its audience, so Rob is well versed in trying to tackle these issues. He has earmarked many ways to grow the game, including more focus on promoting individual head-to-head fixtures, getting fans more involved on match days and digital innovations.

One of the most effective ways to attract a new and younger audiences would be to focus on promoting the players themselves. A survey conducted by Thinkhouse reveals how Gen Z sports fandom is shifting from a focus on the collective to the individual. A lot of young people now support players rather than teams and Premiership Rugby is undoubtedly lacking household names recognisable to non-fans, unlike football, F1, boxing, golf and cricket. There is hardly a lack of characters playing in Premiership Rugby, but they have not been given the appropriate platform or opportunities to promote themselves.

Recent progress has been made on this issue. Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje and Marcus Smith, three of the biggest stars in the league, have recently joined Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Sports agency whose President and Chief of Branding & Strategy, Michael Yormark, said that the game now has an opportunity to be ‘cool’ again.

Furthermore, the success of recent sport documentaries such as Drive To Survive led to The Six Nations and Netflix agreeing a deal to create a documentary covering the 2023 Championship. It is hoped this will give players and coaches the opportunity to create more of a personal brand and tell their individual story, thus attracting more younger fans.

However, reports emerging since the series was announced suggest that there is a lot of resistance within the game and not everyone is comfortable with letting the Netflix cameras in. Wales coach Warren Gatland expressed concerns about the documentary, meanwhile it was revealed that several of the teams involved were not happy at having to grant close access.

In this sense, the sport has gone backwards over the last 10-15 years. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, rugby union was setting the example for other sports to follow with hugely revealing and successful documentaries such as Living with Lions and Building Jerusalem. These helped promote some of the biggest personalities the sport has seen.

We won’t know the impact of this documentary until its release in 2024, however if it is successful in promoting the individual athletes then Premiership Rugby must capitalise on its ‘Drive To Survive moment’ and use it as a tool to promote the players in the league. Not only will this attract a new audience, but also lure in the more casual fans who typically tune in just to watch the Six Nations and the World Cup.

Why a Change in Partnership Strategy is Essential

Whilst the changes mentioned above should hopefully make Premiership Rugby a more appealing prospect for partners, the league and its clubs should also focus on acquiring partners which can help to attract new audiences.

Rights holders can use partnerships to drive their property forward and engage with their desired target audience by choosing brands that resonate with that audience. Agencies and rights holders may focus on the highest monetary offer, without considering which offers could potentially benefit their property in the long term. This may seem difficult at a time when teams and the league are struggling financially, but in the long run it could be hugely beneficial.

For example, The Women’s Six Nations has seen considerable benefits from their partnership with Tik Tok which has helped the women's game reach new audiences. The 2022 Championship saw stadium attendance rise by 69 per cent compared to previous years and the @TikTokW6N channel received more than 100 million views and 110,000 new followers.

Furthermore, new partners of this kind are also hugely effective at shaping the perception of a sport or competition.?

When activated correctly, partners can also enhance the fan experience whether in the stadium or at home. For example, Six Nations viewers benefitted from the recent partnership with Sage who provided the data behind the AI-enabled smart ball. This enriched teams and viewers with access to new data such as distance the ball travelled, ball speed, ball hangtime, possession territory, ruck speed and even a kick success predictor.

Most current partners associated with Premiership Rugby and its clubs are not suited to enhancing the fan experience or changing perception of the sport. Therefore, if they are serious about using partners as tool to attract a new audience, then a change in approach is required.??

The next twelve months will be pivotal for Premiership Rugby. Despite the aforementioned issues, it also has potential to be a transformative period for the league. With a World Cup just around the corner and a Six Nations Netflix documentary set for release in early 2024, rugby union seems poised to gain more exposure. The Premiership, its clubs and brand partners must be ready to capitalise on this.