There was a moment last Sunday morning when the size of the opportunity rugby league is presented with this weekend hit home. Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch is not usually the first place you would look for a chat about rugby league, but when Adam Hills seized the chance to champion the channel’s coverage of Super League in 2022, it became obvious what a defining moment this is for a sport that has constantly courted mainstream attention.
Rugby league is no stranger to free-to-air coverage, with the BBC’s long-standing coverage of the Challenge Cup, and this autumn’s World Cup will be on terrestrial television. But for the first time Super League will be shown live, achieving a bigger audience than ever before on Saturday afternoon, when Channel 4 screens the first of its 20-game commitment across the next two seasons as Leeds Rhinos host Warrington Wolves.
