Warrior Built Part One: Success of Major League Rugby

Herriman, UT–Major League Rugby (MLR) successfully completed its fifth anniversary season with key markers of growth and success with the Utah Warriors, a founding member of the MLR, leading the way in attendance and media partnerships, the Warriors have helped lead the charge of the MLR’s growth.

It’s no small statement to say that the success of the MLR has been its staying power. With the announcement of 2031 and 2033 Rugby World Cups in the USA the world and North America is waking up to what the MLR is doing despite the odds over the last three seasons. The numbers show exciting growth in areas, and it will be the goal of the Warriors to continue to lead on all fronts as the MLR scales in the coming years.

Some of the key areas of growth included in-stadium MLR attendance being up 40 percent while overall viewership on the MLR-owned The Rugby Network (TRN) grew by 55 percent. Launched just 16 months ago, TRN now serves more than 100,000 subscribers, a growth metric of 144 percent from the beginning of the 2022 MLR season.

“The growth of Major League Rugby has been immense,” said MLR Commissioner George Killebrew. “Finishing our 2022 season live on FOX at Red Bull Arena was the perfect showcase event to another successful year where we achieved strong growth in every key metric. We will continue to build on our success in 2023 and beyond. The ‘Rise of Rugby’ is literally taking shape in front of our eyes.”

Take a closer look at your 2022 All-MLR First Team!

Learn more about the 15 selections 👉 https://t.co/PlvkRYDBul pic.twitter.com/6yVZ6dOUEk

— Major League Rugby (@usmlr) July 8, 2022

MLR prioritized the importance of community and spreading the mantra of “rugby is for everyone” in 2022. The league’s social media platforms grew nearly 40 percent and the individual teams’ social media followings continued to gain traction, amassing over 800,000 total followers.

In addition to the growth of the streaming focused Rugby network, after signing an exclusive linear broadcast deal with FOX/Fox Sports MLR saw significantly increased viewership for games featured on Fox Sports 1, all of which has led to an increased MLR viewership of 65% overall during the 2022 season.

Off the pitch, MLR was featured in some of the most prominent news outlets in the country, including The Guardian, the New York Post, and Yahoo! Sports. The league was covered nationally by some of the largest sports media websites including Front Office Sports, Sports Business Journal, Barstool Sports, and SportsTechie.

The rise of rugby coincided with the May announcement that the Rugby World Cup will come to the United States for the first time, with the men’s event in 2031 and the women’s tournament two years later.

Rugby’s trajectory in North America is exciting. The Rugby World Cups will infuse energy into the rugby ecosystem which will give an extra spark to an already growing MLR. We expect a big impact locally given Utah’s rugby history. The future is bright, and we are very excited about where we are going.

This Op-Ed was written by Kimball Kjar and Nic Benson. Kjar serves as CEO of the Utah Warriors, while Benson oversees Warriors’ Operations as COO. You can learn more about the Warriors and secure your seats for 2023 at warriorsrugby.com