North America’s Major League Rugby (MLR) has agreed a rights deal with English rugby union’s top-tier Premiership Rugby to broadcast the league on its streaming platform The Rugby Network (TRN) in the US.
Under an exclusive two-year agreement, TRN will provide coverage of all 93 games from Premiership Rugby in the upcoming 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
The new Premiership Rugby campaign will begin on October 13.
TRN is the exclusive streaming home of MLR, as well as international matches, collegiate rugby, and highlight shows.
Viewers in the US will have early access to prior Premiership season content and news on TRN.
Simon Massie-Taylor, Premiership Rugby chief executive, added: “The US has a huge rugby following with more than 30 million fans of the sport so we are delighted to have agreed this landmark partnership with Major League Rugby.
“We also know that tens of thousands of them already engage with Premiership Rugby, so this is a great opportunity for both new and existing fans.
“The Rugby Network’s growing audience will be able to enjoy Premiership Rugby as the game in North America enters a really exciting period of innovation and growth.”
Premiership Rugby is set to “relaunch” under a new strategy in the 2024-25 season as the league seeks to bounce back from a difficult period off the field.
Among several changes, the English top flight will notably create a new sporting commission that will scrutinize the decision-making of clubs while their finances will be monitored by an independent panel. It would be independently chaired and make decisions on behalf of the league.
The move comes after Wasps and Worcester Warriors recently went out of business and were relegated from the top flight, which has raised questions about the league’s governance system. This led to both the Premiership and England's Rugby Football Union facing questions from members of parliament in November to address the financial issues in the sport.
But the league is eyeing a rebirth in 2024 and has devised an action plan to recover from this turbulent period, which will include a decision in the coming weeks whether the top flight should comprise 10 or 12 teams from 2024.
