Premiership rugby clubs are included in the agreement
European Professional Club Rugby has bundled the Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup with United Rugby Championship (URC) and TOP 14 fixtures for a US broadcast deal.
Streaming platform FloSports has acquired the rights in a three-year deal that runs until the end of the 2024/25 season. The rights include all Champions Cup and Challenge Cup fixtures as well as a selection of games from the URC and France’s TOP 14 to take it to 450 live matches in the 2022/23 campaign.
English sides Leicester Tigers, Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins, and Gloucester are among those that will be shown by FloSports.
Broadcast deals for the UK, France, Ireland, and South Africa, the last of which sees its teams joining EPCR competitions for the first time this season, are expected to be announced shortly. This will be followed by the dates, kick-off times, and TV coverage details for the coming season.
EPCR chairman Dominic McKay said: “The Heineken Champions Cup is the pinnacle of international club rugby and we are delighted to enhance the global reach of our flagship competition, as well as the EPCR Challenge Cup, through this exciting partnership with FloSports alongside two of our leagues – the URC and the TOP 14.
“The US market is a key strategic priority for EPCR as we build the audiences and awareness of our world-class competitions in new territories. With the Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, URC and TOP 14 available from this season at the home of US rugby, more fans than ever will be able watch the very best of the international club game.
“This is our first foray into collaborating on international media rights deals with our leagues, so we are proud to make this piece of history in conjunction with FloSports.”
FloSports director of global rights acquisition Ryan Fenton added: “We are thrilled to be working alongside these three world-class rugby properties to create a historic sports alliance with a mission of supporting the overall growth of rugby in the US.
“The partnerships with EPCR, the URC and the TOP 14 fit perfectly into our vision to elevate rugby in the US through ongoing investments in media rights which delivers unparalleled live programming and creates compelling news and analysis while building an essential destination for fans of the sport.”
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