The France National Rugby League (LNR), the organizer of the top two French rugby club divisions, has announced thermal company De Dietrich as the official supplier of the premier Top 14 competition through the 2026-27 season.
Starting this weekend (January 13) De Dietrich branding will appear at all matches for the rest of the 2023-24 season, and continue until June 2027, with fan activations also part of the deal.
René Bouscatel, president of the LNR: “We are happy to partner with a historic benchmark player in its market with international influence like De Dietrich. We share values of proximity and we will be delighted to welcome our partner on all Top 14 fields.
“The arrival of De Dietrich, who has a long-term commitment, once again demonstrates the attractiveness of French professional rugby, ready to take on new challenges.”
Jordi Mestres, president of De Dietrich, added: “The Top 14 perfectly embodies the values anchored in the DNA of De Dietrich: passion, excellence, respect, and sharing. This is why we are very proud to now be able to associate the brand with the image of the National Rugby League.”
Last year’s Top 14 final had a peak broadcast audience of 4.6 million on free-to-air (FTA) public-service broadcaster France Télévisions.
Canal Plus holds exclusive domestic rights to the regular season of the 14-team league, in a deal running through 2026-27. The last rights extension by the network came in March 2021, with the broadcaster to pay an average of €113.6 million ($137.3 million) per year for the exclusive rights after 2023-24.
France Télévisions covers the final, meanwhile, which is a ‘listed event’ under French government legislation and must therefore be shown FTA. That tie-up, concluded in June last year, also runs until the end of 2026-27.
