Strong fan engagement highlights provincial rugby's continued popularity

Amid an action-packed rugby season, provincial rugby continues to demonstrate its enduring appeal among fans across New Zealand, with recent fan engagement figures reflecting a passionate supporter base.

Broadcast viewership, online engagement and attendance figures across the regular season have proven that the Bunnings Warehouse National Provincial Championship (NPC), Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings Warehouse (FPC) and Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship remain cornerstones of New Zealand’s rugby calendar.

Sky NZ figures show that during the regular season over 1.34 million New Zealanders have tuned into Bunnings NPC on Sky Sport and Sky Open, a 9 percent increase on the 2024 regular season¹. Some of the season’s biggest fixtures helped fuel this growth, including the Round 2 clash between Auckland and Canterbury, and Taranaki’s defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Northland.

Audiences for Bunnings NPC also grew on Sky’s digital platforms, Sky Sport Now and Sky Go, with the audience increasing 7 percent year on year to 477,000². The Ranfurly Shield’s journey proved a popular drawcard throughout the season, with three Shield challenges making the top five viewed games so far this year on Sky’s digital channels. As the Shield moved, so did the hype with the Canterbury vs. Otago challenge in Round 8 seeing 72,000 people tune in live to see the Shield move south.

Online engagement has surged for a second year across the Bunnings NPC, FPC and Heartland Championship, with team naming announcements, points table updates and competition highlights driving a significant uptick in fan engagement on the Bunnings Provincial Rugby social media channels.

Across the regular season, 1,259 posts were shared accumulating over 31 million views, an 8.6 percent increase on 2024. There has also been an almost 22 percent increase in video views across these channels, going from 4.2 million last season to 5.1 million this season. The increased reach in views has also led to over 23k new followers, a 52 percent increase on last year’s follower increase.

The increase in online engagement and viewership has been accompanied by increased attendance at games. Across all three competitions, several teams hosted dedicated charity rounds, reflecting rugby’s ongoing commitment to supporting local communities and national causes. Fans have responded, often braving challenging winter conditions to support their teams. Nearly 200,000 NPC tickets have been scanned so far this season, a 2.7 percent increase on last year, with strong turnouts also recorded across the FPC and Heartland competitions. The Ranfurly Shield, club-round celebrations, Bunnings Warehouse NPC and FPC double headers, and family-friendly activations have brought communities together, helping to make each outing more than just a game of rugby.

Steve Lancaster, New Zealand Rugby General Manager of Community Rugby, says it’s affirming to see fans supporting their local teams.

"As a fan myself, the quality of rugby, unpredictability of results and passion and intrigue around the Ranfurly Shield have been great this season. These engagement numbers reflect not only how loyal fans are to all our provincial competitions but their ongoing and in fact growing relevance in the modern sports market. We’re thrilled to see that engagement growing stronger each season, and we are confident this continues across the NPC and Heartland finals over the next few weeks.", says Steve.

As the competition heads into the final rounds for the Bunnings Warehouse NPC and Heartland Championship, the competition’s momentum shows no signs of slowing. With eight matchups across the weekend fans can expect more unforgettable moments both on and off the field.

The Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings wrapped up last weekend with Waikato coming out on top for the Premiership. The Otago Spirit came out on top in the Championship competition, a couple of weeks before.

¹ Nielsen TAM, Cume. Reach, 05+, Full coverage (incl. HLs and replays), Sky Sport + Sky Open
² Sky Internal data, Co-viewers based on Sky internal Unique Account data and a co-viewing factor of 2.3 (Source Glasshouse Consulting streaming co-viewing study)

Bunnings NPC

Friday 10 October
Otago vs. Waikato
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
Kick-off: 19:10
Tickets: Events - Otago Rugby Football Union

Saturday 11 October
Bay of Plenty vs. Tasman
Tauranga Domain, Tauranga
Kick-off: 16:10
Tickets: Bay of Plenty Rugby Union - Home Game Tickets

Hawke’s Bay vs. Taranaki
McLean Park, Napier
Kick-off: 19:10
Tickets: Events - Hawke's Bay Rugby Union

Sunday 12 October
Canterbury vs. Counties Manukau
Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off: 14:10
Tickets: Canterbury Rugby Season 2025 tickets 

Bunnings Heartland Championship

Meads Cup
Semi Final 1
Saturday 11 October
Mid Canterbury vs. Wairarapa-Bush
Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
Kick-off: 13:35
Available to view on Sky Sport Select

Semi Final 2
Saturday 11 October
South Canterbury vs. Thames Valley
Fraser Park, Timaru
Kick-off: 15:35
Available to view on Sky Sport Select

Lochore Cup
Semi Final 1
Saturday 11 October
Whanganui vs. Horowhenua-Kāpiti
Cooks Garden, Whanganui
Kick-off: 14:30
Watch the livestream here

Semi Final 2
Saturday 11 October
North Otago vs. Poverty Bay
A&P Showgrounds, Oamaru
Kick-off: 14:30
Watch the livestream here