Premier Sports expands coverage of BKT United Rugby Championship until 2029

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 07: Premier Sports pundit Ryan Wilson with Warriors’ Jamie Bhatti during an Investec Champions Cup match between Glasgow Warriors and Sale Sharks at Scotstoun Stadium, on December 07, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

The rise of the BKT URC has seen records for audiences for TV, attendance and social media broken over and over again with broadcasters like Premier Sports playing a vital role in growing connections between fans and their favourite players and teams.

In the UK, Premier Sports will be the ‘home of rugby’ where all 151 BKT URC games (131 exclusive) will be live alongside the Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup coverage with subscribers gaining access to its new dedicated 24/7 rugby channel Premier Sports Rugby. The new rights come into effect for the start of the 2025/26 season and by its completion will mark over 10 years since Premier Sports helped transform the league by ensuring every game was broadcast live.

Driven by their passion for rugby and live events Premier Sports will continue their focus on innovative coverage led by some of the biggest personalities from across the sport while aiming to draw in younger audiences and new fans.

In the Republic of Ireland, Premier Sports has expanded its partnership with the United Rugby Championship after securing new exclusive URC broadcast rights in Ireland for the next four years. Alongside showing every URC game live featuring Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht, Premier Sports Ireland will now exclusively host one game per week featuring the Irish provinces (*21 exclusive games each season). Six Irish inter-pro derbies will be live and exclusive on Premier Sports Ireland every season.

Additionally, the URC expects to announce a package of Free to Air rights with a UK broadcaster in due course.

Speaking about the growth of this key partnership, Martin Anayi, CEO of United Rugby Championship, said: “The BKT United Rugby Championship is an utterly different league to what it was a decade ago. During that time Premier Sports have been a critical partner and shared in our vision of creating a vibrant and innovative competition. It is now normal for fans to be able to follow every minute of their team’s season and it was Premier Sports’ belief in the league and our teams that allowed us to make that leap in 2018.

“During the partnership we have experienced unwavering support when it came to our expansion to PRO14, through the hardships of the pandemic and creation of the United Rugby Championship in 2021.

“They have brought fresh talent to the screen and ensured that fans watching the URC can get real opinions and insight from familiar voices who have won the league, played for their countries and represented the British & Irish Lions. We are thrilled that fans in the UK can now access the new Premier Sports Rugby channel while viewers in Ireland will get to experience more enhanced coverage of their teams.”

Richard Sweeney, Chief Executive of Premier Sports UK said: “We are very proud to extend our partnership with the BKT URC and to enter into our third consecutive agreement with the Championship as one of the most exciting leagues in world rugby supported by passionate club rugby fans across Scotland, Ireland, Wales, South Africa and Italy.

“The diversity, competitiveness and quality of rugby on show each weekend in the URC is exceptional and it’s been an exciting journey to have been on over the past seven years and great to see how the Championship has made huge strides forward with rugby audiences reaching record levels.

“We have a frontline TV talent team that is the best in the business, with world-class former internationals who have unrivalled knowledge of this league, its players, clubs and supporters and can connect and engage people invested in the game right across the competition.

“Extending our URC partnership is exciting news for UK rugby fans as we now offer six premium rugby competitions under one roof in an easy to access viewing platform, which is something that rugby fans have been asking for and gives our customers even more value for money. Premier Sports has become the home for all the best club rugby action from the top club competitions in the world.”

Ryle Nugent, CEO of Premier Sports Ireland said: “This is a significant moment in the growth and development of Premier Sports in Ireland. Adding an exclusive BKT URC match each round alongside our continued live coverage of every Irish provincial URC game live and all the play-off games and Final for the next four seasons makes Premier Sports the home for the entirety of this terrific league.

“We’re a compelling offer for Irish sports fans with full exclusive coverage of the Investec Champions Cup next season making us the home of club rugby – as well as exclusive live Premier League matches on Saturday’s, UEFA Champions League matches on Tuesday nights and a host of more live sport.”

*Republic of Ireland: Premier Sports will cover all Irish provincial games with one exclusive per round while TG4 will screen a minimum of 26 games during the regular season. Both broadcasters will split rights during the Play-Offs with TG4 sharing coverage of the Grand Final in 2027 and 2029. The deciders in 2026 and 2028 screened exclusively on Premier Sports.

United Kingdom: Premier Sports will be the only destination to watch all 151 URC games live and is available on Sky, Virgin Media and Amazon Prime Video platforms while Premier Sports Rugby will launch later in the year on Amazon, Sky Glass, Sky Stream and on Premier’s streaming service.

Premier Sports will now bring UK rugby fans more than 400 games live each season across six competitions and 11 rugby nations.

Every game from the URC (151) with 131 exclusive URC fixtures on Premier Sports

• Every game from the Investec Champions Cup (63) including QF/SF and Final
• EPCR Challenge Cup: Two games from each pool round up to and including the Round of 16. Every game from the QF/SFs and Final.
• Four games from each round of the TOP14 plus Play-offs/Final (80)
• Two games from each round of the MLR plus Playoffs/Final exclusively on Premier Sports Rugby (Premier Sports’ new Rugby Channel)
• Two games from each round of the Japanese Rugby League One plus Playoffs/Final exclusively on Premier Sports Rugby (Premier Sports’ new Rugby Channel)