MPs call for free-to-air Rugby League World Cup matches Sport Business MPs have called on the government to make matches at the Rugby League World Cup free-to-air and protected for the foreseeable future. This year’s competition, taking place in Australia, is being broadcast behind a paywall on Premier Sports after the BBC declined to cough up to show the tournament. Jon Trickett MP said: “The problem [...]
A Rugby League World Cup starts this week and you didn’t know. That’s a huge problem Sport Business Did you know the Rugby League World Cup starts this week? If you’re reading this in the north of England then the answer is probably yes. If down south then I suspect the answer is much more likely to be no. This is a huge problem. Rugby league has one of the most watchable products [...]
Premier Sports to broadcast five Six Nations matches across UK Sport Business Premier Sports will broadcast five Six Nations matches across the UK as the streaming platform looks to strengthen its rugby offering. The Irish broadcaster, which holds the UK rights to rugby competitions such as the French Top 14, Investec Champions Cup and multinational United Rugby Championship, will show one match per round, beginning with Scotland’s [...]
Manchester City v Premier League battle set to drag on beyond season December 17, 2025 Manchester City will face another lengthy wait to discover their punishment if they are found guilty of breaching the Premier League’s financial rules, as the much-anticipated verdict of the independent commission will be delivered in stages. The initial judgement of the commission, which finished hearing the case 13 months ago, will only deal with matters [...]
Brighton owner Bloom looks to add French Ligue 1 club to portfolio May 28, 2025 In this week’s Ahead of the Game: Brighton owner Tony Bloom, football films, The Hundred sale, rugby rights and the National League. Brighton owner Tony Bloom is exploring a potential investment in a French club after completing his purchase of a 29 per cent stake in Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian this week. [...]
Champions Cup exclusive: YouTube to show Northampton vs Bordeaux final May 20, 2025 Northampton Saints’ attempt to win the European Champions Cup for the first time in 25 years against Bordeaux on Saturday is set to be made available free-to-air throughout the UK on YouTube and Welsh broadcaster S4C. City AM has learned that negotiations between UK rights holders Premier Sports and tournament organisers EPCR are at an [...]
Sky Sports, TNT and Premier Sports snub England Rugby vs USA Test May 7, 2025 Ahead of the Game: England Rugby rights snub, Nottingham Forest ownership, TNT Sports backs Premiership, Relevent Sports in London and WTA commercial agreement England are facing a TV blackout for their summer rugby union Test match against the USA, with no domestic broadcasters bidding for the rights. Sky Sports will show the first two Tests [...]
Premier Sports to show 400 rugby games per year after new deal April 17, 2025 Premier Sports is set to show 400 rugby games per season after agreeing a new deal to broadcast the United Rugby Championship (URC). The agreement, which will last four years and take the Irish challenger brand through until 2029, will see the multi-national URC broadcast on a dedicated Premier Sports Rugby channel alongside the likes [...]
LaLiga launches UK free-to-air rights tender as ITV deal comes to end March 4, 2025 Spanish football’s LaLiga has launched a media rights tender for free-to-air coverage of games in the United Kingdom. Two packages are on offer to British and Irish broadcasters: the first for exclusive access to all LaLiga matches, and the second for free-to-air matches scheduled for 8pm on Sunday evenings. ITV Sport has been the host [...]
Premier Sports hit Champions Cup targets, says broadcaster chief December 11, 2024 Investec Champions Cup broadcaster Premier Sports insisted they hit viewership targets across the opening weekend of action. The Irish broadcaster has taken over the broadcast rights from TNT Sports for Great Britain as part of a three-year deal with the competition’s governing body EPCR. Despite concerns over the coverage, which featured some technical glitches and [...]