As confirmed today by the EPCR, Premier Sport will host both the Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup from this season.
The European competitions were previously broadcast on TNT Sports, but under the new agreement they will now be broadcast on Premier Sports until the end of the 2026/2027 season. This also means that all 63 matches of the Champions and Challenge Cup season will be broadcast on Premier Sports.
Premier Sports also currently broadcasts the Top 14 and URC in the UK and also showed some EPCR Challenge Cup matches last year.
New broadcast contract for the Champions Cup
Jacques Raynaud, CEO of EPCR, said in a statement: “Premier Sports has big ambitions to become the home of club rugby in the UK and Ireland, retaining the rights to the TOP14 and URC competitions. We are delighted to be joining them on this journey and are incredibly excited to help them reach new heights by bringing the best of elite club rugby to audiences in the UK and Ireland.”
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“We have worked with the team at Premier Sports for many years, both on the EPCR Challenge Cup in the UK and Ireland and as our broadcaster in Asia. We are very impressed with their commitment and ability to raise the profile and production of URC coverage to exciting new levels and we look forward to working with them as EPCR continues the ambitious growth of its competitions.”
Mickey O’Rourke, founding managing director of Premier Sports, added: “We are delighted and proud to be able to offer the world’s largest international rugby club competition to our customers in the UK and Ireland.”
“Our exciting new TV partnership with EPCR and the first-class offering of all 63 Investec Champions Cup matches live in the UK and Ireland complements our existing URC and TOP14 coverage and demonstrates our innovation, ambition and growth as a broadcaster.”
Creating a 24/7 rugby channel
As part of the new TV deal, Premier Sports will set up its own rugby channel, broadcasting 24 hours a day, and airing all rugby coverage for three years.
Raynaud added: “In addition to matchday coverage, the creation of a 24/7 rugby channel represents a step change in Premier Sports’ rugby coverage. The Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup will be at the heart of this new offering, led by key rugby personalities such as Stephen Ferris, John Barclay, Tom Shanklin and Ryan Wilson.”
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“In addition, working with Premier Sports, we have been able to secure new seasons for English clubs, avoiding overlap with the Premier League to maximise audience numbers.”
How to join Premier Sports
Premier Sports membership starts at £10.99 per month and includes access to the Premier Sports streaming service, which can be streamed on iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac, Fire TV and Chromecast, LG Smart TVs and Android TV enabled devices.
In the UK, it is available on Sky TV channels 419 and 420, on Virgin channels 551 and 552, and on Amazon Prime as an additional subscription.
In the Republic of Ireland, Premier Sports is available as part of the Sports Extra package on Sky, NOW, Virgin Media and Vodafone.
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