Channel launches on Virgin Media first, with Prime Video and Sky Glass/Stream expected later this year
Premier Sports has acquired the rights to Japan’s Rugby League One and USA’s Major League Rugby for the next two years to mark the launch of its 24/7 rugby channel.
The channel launched on Virgin Media this week, with its arrival on Prime Video and Sky Glass/Stream expected later this year. In addition to two games-per week from the Japanese and American competitions, Premier Sports Rugby will also show every game from the URC, 80 live games from Investec Champions Cup/EPCR Challenge Cup and 110 games from France’s Top 14.
Plans for the channel were revealed late last year, and Broadcast Sport spoke to Premier Sports CEO Richard Sweeney about its strategy at the time. The channel is available as part of a normal Premier Sports subscription, which is currently available for £11.99-a-month.
Sweeney said of the latest announcement: “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.
“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.”
He added on the new channel, “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 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.”
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