Broadcaster will continue to show competition free-to-air for further two years
ITV has extended its broadcast deal with Premiership Rugby for a further two years.
The broadcaster will continue to show seven games-a-season free-to-air, including the final. In addition, a rebranded highlights show – Gallagher Premiership Unleashed – will air on Wednesday nights.
This comes after the 2024 final drew the highest peak audience ever (1.25m) for a Premiership Rugby match on ITV, with an average audience of 1.2m and a share of 14.3%, approximately 1 in 7 of all UK viewers. The ITV average audience share for Gallagher Premiership fixtures was also up 3% when compared to the 2022/23 campaign. The competition originally joined ITV in 2022.
The first match of the 2024/25 season on ITV sees runners-up Bath Rugby host fierce rivals Bristol Bears on 5 October, and a fortnight later it will show Leicester Tigers v Gloucester Rugby. The third and final game confirmed for now is Leicester Tigers v Harlequins in the annual ’Big Game’ at Twickenham on 28 December.
Three more league fixtures will be announced in due course, before the final takes place at Twickenham on 14 June. All matches shown by ITV will be simulcast on TNT Sports, alongside TNT Sports’ further coverage of the competition.
Simon Massie-Taylor, chief executive officer at Premiership Rugby, said: “Premiership Rugby is thrilled to extend our relationship with ITV and to continue to provide free-to-air access to Gallagher Premiership Rugby with seven blockbuster fixtures on top of the revamped weekly highlights show.
“The 2023/24 season saw ITV viewership records smashed for The Showdown 5 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium between London rivals Saracens and Harlequins - and again for the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final 2024 - adding to an impressive year-on-year increase in overall audience share.”
Niall Sloane, director of ITV Sport, said: “Viewers are eagerly anticipating the new Gallagher Premiership Rugby season on ITV1 and ITVX this Autumn. As well as last season outperforming the previous on linear, on ITVX streams for the matches and highlights were up by +14% also with 1.8m.”
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