Premiership Rugby renewed its media rights deal with TNT Sports on 10 May, extending coverage for both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Aiming to build on record audience growth, the agreement will see TNT Sports broadcast every Gallagher Premiership Rugby match, including the play-offs and final, until the end of the 2030/31 season. The agreement also includes select Premiership Rugby Cup matches.
For the women’s game, TNT Sports, or its streaming platform discovery+, will show at least one match from every Premiership Women’s Rugby round each season, including both semi-finals and the final, through to the end of the 2028/29 season.
Simon Massie-Taylor, CEO of Premiership Rugby, said: “Our recent partnership with TNT Sports has helped drive record audiences and attract a million new fans to the Gallagher Premiership, alongside drawing record crowds and a second sold-out final in a row.
“Our clubs have worked hard to establish the Gallagher Premiership as a compelling competition with high-quality entertaining rugby, and TNT Sports have embraced the challenge to continue to innovate to help grow the sport and their output has been first class.”
TNT Sports has been the primary broadcast partner of Premiership Rugby since 2013, though the partnership has flourished in recent seasons.
TNT Sports posted two of its top five record-high-viewed linear TV audiences this season. According to Premiership Rugby, average viewership for the Gallagher Premiership is up 11% compared to the 2023/24 season and 24% compared to 2022/23, based on the first 13 rounds of the current campaign.
A key factor behind this growth is TNT Sports’ live-to-live scheduling strategy. Saturday afternoon matches that follow English Premier League (EPL) football games have driven a 39% increase in viewership compared to weeks without an EPL lead-in.
Andrew Georgiou, President and Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe, said: “TNT Sports is proud to cement its position as the home of men’s and women’s domestic rugby, providing fans with certainty on where they can watch every moment of every match of Premiership Rugby and extensive coverage of Premiership Women’s Rugby.
“There is no doubt the quality of both competitions continues to improve each season and we are convinced the changes being mooted by Premiership Rugby, together with the strength of our production and on-air team, that we can continue to grow viewership and attendance over the next five seasons.”
ITV also mentioned viewership growth when it renewed its free-to-air coverage of the league for another two years in October 2024. Niall Sloane, Director of ITV Sport, stated: “ITVX streams for the matches and highlights were up by +14%, also with 1.8m.”
Women’s game in focus
As well as boosting viewership of the men’s game, the broadcaster has played a key role in growing audiences for women’s rugby. Premiership Women’s Rugby viewership rose by 156% following November’s Autumn Nations Series.
March’s PWR Grand Final also saw a 36% increase in average audience compared to the 2023 final, contributing to an 86% year-on-year rise in season average viewership on TNT Sports.
Genevieve Shore, Executive Chair, Premiership Women’s Rugby, said: “The extension of our partnership with TNT Sports is a huge step forward for Premiership Women’s Rugby. Showcasing a live match every weekend for the next four years means our incredible athletes will be seen by more fans than ever before, giving them the platform they deserve and inspiring the next generation of players.”
“We’re thrilled to be working with a broadcaster that shares our vision for the future of the women’s game, and this deal is a powerful vote of confidence in the strength, skill, and excitement that define Premiership Women’s Rugby and its athletes.”
