LONDON: UK broadcaster ITV has stated that over 70 million viewers have so far watched its coverage of the Rugby World Cup from Australia. In India the event is airing on ESPN Star Sports. .

ITV is showing all 48 matches live. The upcoming weekend sees the start of the knockout phase. On 8 November New Zealand will play South Africa. This will air on ITV2, followed by Australia versus Scotland on ITV1.

An ITV spokesman was quoted in an official release saying, "The figures reflect the growing appetite that viewers in the UK have for the Rugby World Cup and have surpassed our expectations for the group stages. We have been treated to some exciting matches over the last couple of weekends. Now the knockout stages are upon us were looking forward to more excellent audiences, especially with all four home unions live on ITV1.".

England's three group matches on ITV1 have provided the largest audiences. The match against South Africa receiving the biggest figure with a peak of 6.1m and an average of 5.3 million  the highest for a rugby match on TV this year. The game against Samoa peaked at 5.6 million and averaged 4.95 million. The Brits opening game against Georgia saw a peak of 5.3 million viewers and an average of 4.5 million