WARRINGTON Wolves are one of four Super League clubs attracting average attendances that have increased from last season.

The Wire, along with Hull KR, St Helens and Salford Red Devils, have brought in average crowds more than 12 per cent higher than 2018 according to figures released by Super League.

On the whole, TV audiences for Super League as a whole have increased by more than a quarter compared to games up to round four last season.

The figures have also shown games have been more than seven minutes shorter on average – thanks largely to the introduction of new rules such as the shot clock – while there have been more tries per game (7.42 v 6.85), offloads (18.6 v 17.7) and quick play-the-balls (33.88 v 29.21) on average this year compared to 2018.

“It’s great to start 2019 with such positive news,” Super League chief executive Robert Elstone said.

“We have seen some great games live on Sky Sports in the opening four rounds and these figures show Betfred Super League is off to a great start in 2019.”

Wigan Warriors vs Leeds Rhinos has attracted the biggest TV average match audience of 2019 (250,300) and this exceeded all regular season average match TV audiences from 2018.

Betfred Super League’s season opener between St Helens and Wigan had a match average TV audience that was more than one-third higher than the opening fixture last season (230,400).

And, the Betfred Super League continues to grow its digital footprint too:

• The #NewBeginnings season launch video, produced by The City Talking, is the top-ranked video post via Super League channels with over 128,000 minutes viewed, 494,500 video views and a reach of over 728,500 to date.

• Marc Sneyd landed Super League’s first Golden Point against Wigan Warriors, a moment which saw over 92,500 impressions, 32,500 video views and 9,000 engagements.

• Jimmy Keinhorst captured the moment of Round 1 with his last minute try to win the Hull Derby and fans reacted via social media to produce over 95,000 video views and a reach of over 225,000

• Super League social media channels have generated over 5,500,000 video views since January 1 and a total reach of over 15,700,000

• Super League also continues to reach out to new international audiences with the extension of an OTT streaming platform, taking live game coverage into territories not currently serviced by a traditional broadcast deal. The paid for service has seen subscribers join in locations such as Spain, Norway, Poland, Philippines and UAE.