Rugby league targets its own Ashes moment with switch to Channel 4

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 which has constantly courted mainstream attention.

Rugby league is, of course, no stranger to free-to-air coverage with the BBC’s long-standing coverage of the Challenge Cup, plus the fact this autumn’s World Cup will be on terrestrial television. But for the first time in its history, Super League will be shown live in front of 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.

“I’m hopeful we can take this sport to a broader audience,” says Channel 4’s head of sport, Pete Andrews. Sky Sports had held a monopoly on Super League coverage since the competition began in 1996, which is why for those associated with the game, this truly feels like a watershed moment. The goal for Andrews and Channel 4 is to satisfy ardent rugby league fans while, perhaps more importantly, hooking in new fans.

“That’s the tightrope we’re walking,” he says. “We don’t want to annoy the existing fans but we have to strike the right tone with potential new audiences too.” Channel 4’s determination to make their product different to Sky or the BBC is underlined by the appointment of Hills as host presenter. Hills, known for presenting The Last Leg and Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympics, is a boyhood rugby league fan, while he also