Premier Sports has launched a new 24/7 dedicated Rugby channel, including live coverage from Japan’s Rugby League One (JRL1) and the USA’s Major League Rugby (MLR) for the first time on this side of the world.
Premier Sports Rugby is available for customers on the Premier Sports streaming platform and will soon launch on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin and Amazon in the United Kingdom.
The two new additions to Premier Sports’ live rugby coverage will see the broadcaster host more than 400 live rugby games every season from competitions across 11 rugby nations.
It shows every game from the BKT United Rugby Championship, 80 live games from the Investec Champions Cup/EPCR Challenge Cup and 110 games from France’s Top 14.
There will be two live pool stage games from JRL1 and MLR every weekend, plus end-of-season play-off games from both competitions in 2025 and the 2026/7 season. There is an option to extend the partnerships after the initial two-year agreements.
Japanese League One coverage this Saturday includes a rematch of last season’s final as champions Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo face Damian de Allende’s Saitama Panasonic Wild Knights (see details below).
“We are very excited and delighted to be able to bring our UK rugby fans even more premium rugby from around the globe as part of our new rugby channel, Premier Sports Rugby,” said Richard Sweeney, CEO of Premier Sports.
“We hope adding these two international rugby competitions to our rugby family will really excite UK rugby fans. We now offer five premium rugby competitions under one roof in an easy to access one-stop shop platform, which is something that rugby fans have been asking for and gives our customers even more value for money.
“The addition of top-flight Japanese pro rugby and the chance to watch its host of world rugby stars plus the hugely popular MLR from the USA live every weekend, gives fresh and intriguing new rugby viewing for our customers.
“As we have done with Top 14 – which has seen huge growth with viewing numbers increase significantly over the past year – we want to give fans access to the best club rugby from across the globe.
“We aim 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. We’re now opening a window into Japan and USA’s rugby scenes and we really hope rugby customers enjoy it.”
“To create UK rugby’s first-ever dedicated rugby channel is an exciting step forward for us. Securing a new partnership with EPCR last summer for three years for the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup gave real energy to our plans to showcase exciting rugby competitions and players from around the world – as well as shining a spotlight on emerging players and leagues as well and the heritage of the game. The channel gives us the depth to cover even more rugby.
“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.
“This is just the start of the journey for our new rugby channel. We will continue to evolve it over time. We will look to add more live rugby and unique content including new podcasts, to showcase great European rugby contests of the past and expand our schools rugby content alongside our current coverage of Irish schools rugby.”
Gracing JRL1 are some of world rugby’s top stars including Israel Folau (Australia/Tonga), Jasper Wiese & Samu Kerevi (SA), Ngani Laumape (New Zealand), Charles Piutau (NZ/Tonga), Richie Mo’unga (NZ), Seta Tamanivalu and Shannon Frizell (NZ), Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa), Jesse Kriel (SA), Bernard Foley (Australia),Damian de Allende (SA), Cheslin Kolbe (SA) Pieter-Steph du Toit (SA) Pablo Matera (Argentina) Manu Vunipola (England) Aaron Smith (NZ).
Further Reading for Sport for Business Members: LOITV and Premier Sports Platform Launched for New Season
SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
Football has shown few ill effects from near saturation coverage and Rugby is taking a lead with Premier Sports positioning themselves as a channel that is required viewing for the dedicated fan. With Six Nations rights seemingly heading towards being retained free-to-air in the coming years, we may be moving back towards a division where club rugby in the main returns to subscription channels.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
The Japanese and Rugby action gets underway this weekend.
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