UK pay-TV sports network Premier Sports has reaffirmed its commitment to the rugby union market, extending its broadcast partnership with the United Rugby Championship competition for the next four years.
Premier Sports will air every URC game, 151 per season, every year through the 2028-29 season, with 131 games being exclusive broadcasts. The remaining 20 games will also be aired by free-to-air broadcasters in Wales (BBC Wales, S4C) for games involving the four Welsh teams, and in Northern Ireland (BBC Northern Ireland) for Ulster fixtures.
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The URC, which features teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, and South Africa, runs annually from September/October through the following May/June.
This reaffirms a long-standing partnership that has been in place since the 2018-19 season, meaning Premier Sports will have broadcast the URC for 11 years by the time the new extension runs its course.
Speaking on the renewed partnership Premier Sports chief executive Richard Sweeney said: “Our aim is to be an integral part of the rugby communities we broadcast; to promote the very best players in the world as well as emerging talent and to highlight different cultures and rugby perspectives from a range of rugby leagues around the world.
“Like all those involved in the game, we want to be part of the drive to engage and attract new audiences, younger rugby fans, and keep giving our customers more diverse and fresh rugby to watch, and our style and range of coverage reflect that.”
Premier Sports has adopted a strong focus on rugby as of late with the launch of a dedicated rugby channel on linear TV and its OTT platform.
Alongside the URC, Premier Sports also holds the rights to the elite Champions Cup and secondary EPCR Challenge Cup pan-European competitions, France’s elite Top 14 domestic competition, Japan’s Rugby League One top-flight, and the US’ Major League Rugby top tier.
Sweeney continued: “Extending our BKT URC partnership is exciting news for UK rugby fans as we now offer six premium rugby competitions under one roof in an easy-to-access viewing platform, which is something that rugby fans have been asking for and gives our customers even more value for money.”
The new channel is currently available on the Premier Sports streaming platform for subscribers, and is set to launch on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin, and Amazon in the UK.
The JRL1 and MLR deals will include live coverage of two pool stage games from both leagues every weekend, as well as end-of-season play-off matches for the current season and the following campaign.
Premier Sports also has the option to extend these partnerships after the initial two-year agreements conclude.
Alongside its portfolio of rugby union rights, Premier Sports is also the UK broadcaster of several soccer competitions, such as Spain’s top-tier LaLiga, as well as the Coppa Italia and German DFB Pokal knockout cups.
North American ice hockey’s NHL and US stock car racing’s Nascar are also broadcast in the UK by the Ireland-based network.
