The audience on Sky Sports 2 peaked at 487,000 viewers (4.1-per-cent share) at the climax of the shoot-out. The next highest peak of the season was 373,000 for the match between the Ospreys and Leicester Tigers on 24th January.
The Cardiff-Leicester match in-full averaged 258,000 viewers, fewer than the 288,000 that watched the first semi-final between Munster and Leinster the previous day. The Cardiff-Leicester audience was probably affected by the coverage of Premier League football’s Sunderland v Everton at 16.00 on Sky Sports 1.
Together, this year’s two semi-finals averaged 273,000 viewers, an impressive 57-per-cent rise on the equivalent matches in 2008.