{"id":429840,"date":"2026-01-22T11:33:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:33:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429840\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T11:33:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T11:33:19","slug":"itv-boosts-rugby-coverage-with-prem-rugby-rights-renewal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429840\/","title":{"rendered":"ITV boosts rugby coverage with Prem Rugby rights renewal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

ITV recently secured rights to the Nations Championship, the international rugby union competition debuting this year. (ITV)<\/p>\n

ITV, the UK commercial broadcaster, has reinforced its rugby offering after securing a two-year extension to its long-standing rights agreement with Prem Rugby, English rugby union\u2019s top-tier league.<\/p>\n

The new agreement will see ITV continue to broadcast seven live matches free-to-air per season, including the final, on its ITV1 linear channel and ITVX streaming service for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.<\/p>\n

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The main rights package for Prem Rugby in the UK is held by pay-TV broadcaster TNT Sports, which secured an early renewal for its rights back in May 2025.<\/p>\n

TNT Sports, whose deal runs through 2031, will simultaneously broadcast the same matches ITV covers live.<\/p>\n

Across ITV and TNT Sports, last year\u2019s final between Bath Rugby and Leicester Tigers drew a combined audience of 1.3 million.<\/p>\n

Ollie Lewis, head of broadcast for Prem Rugby, said: \u201cWe are delighted to continue our partnership with ITV, which is now into its fifth year.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiving fans of Gallagher PREM Rugby free-to-air access across the season, alongside the Six Nations, is the perfect blend to showcase the stars of our league to wider audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The extension\u00a0comes as ITV looks to consolidate its rugby portfolio, having recently secured rights to the Nations Championship, the\u00a0international rugby union competition debuting this year, and\u00a0renewing its deal for the Six Nations\u00a0competition earlier in 2025.<\/p>\n

The broadcaster placed a successful \u00a380 million ($106.3 million) bid to land the rights to the new biennial\u00a0Nations Championship, and, together with its Six Nations rights, will show every England rugby union test from this year.<\/p>\n

The Nations Championship deal gives ITV the right to show every game in the new 12-team competition for the first two editions. The competition was launched\u00a0as a joint venture between the European Six Nations collective (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy) and the main southern hemisphere rugby nations of New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Argentina.<\/p>\n

Two more nations will be invited to compete in the tournament, with matches played in July and November every two years.<\/p>\n

ITV\u2019s Six Nations deal, meanwhile, will see the broadcaster continue to split the rights for the next four editions of the tournament with UK public-service broadcaster, the BBC, with ITV gaining 10\u00a0fixtures per year, including every England game, as it is paying a greater share of the joint \u00a363 million fee.<\/p>\n

Under a new tournament structure announced last month, the Six Nations will tour the southern hemisphere for three tests in July, with England beginning their campaign against South Africa in Johannesburg, followed by hosting Australia, Japan, and New Zealand in November, culminating in a final series.<\/p>\n

The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia will also be broadcast live on\u00a0ITV, as it has been since 1991.<\/p>\n

Prem Rugby, meanwhile, has sought to boost its international visibility, having secured US coverage through a rights deal with OTT sports subscription service FloSports.<\/p>\n

Six months ago, the league rebranded from Premiership Rugby to Prem Rugby in a move designed to attract new demographics and commercial partners to the sport.<\/p>\n

At the time, Premiership Rugby chief growth officer Rob Calder\u00a0told Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) the shift would allow the\u00a0league to target new commercial markets that it\u00a0had touched upon far less in previous years.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThere are more stories to tell. For us\u00a0in Prem Rugby, it’s about energy, dynamism, and power, so you can read into that what kind of categories we would want to see more of, but\u00a0that’s where we\u2019re leaning into, because we want our partners, where possible, to be part of the marketing mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

Domestically, the league entered a social media and digital content strategy tie-up with UK sports and TV production firm Whisper, which is now handling both social and digital content and storytelling for the 10-team Prem, including the management of the league’s social media channels.<\/p>\n

The production company will also work alongside TNT Sports to work on ‘digital storytelling’ on the\u00a0broadcaster’s\u00a0coverage, as well as secure access to talent.<\/p>\n

Prem\u00a0Rugby has defined its strategy as athlete-led, aiming to deepen relationships with both clubs and players around content creation.<\/p>\n

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